"How are you doing today?"
This phrase works wonders. Every time I'm out and about either at a Starbucks, checking out at the grocery store, or addressing a hostess at a restaurant, I ask that simple question. It makes a world of difference. Instantly, a relaxed, thankful look from the eyes of the barista or checkout person becomes apparent.
It continues to blow my mind how fast-paced our society is, and how rude people can be. I get the fact that we all have 34091 things going at once, but really-- how difficult is it just to humanize the person that is helping you out by asking them how they are doing?
Today, my family and I went to the movie theater to check out Sherlock Holmes and as we pulled up we knew we weren't the only family with this idea. There were lines at the ticket office, and even inside to give the person your ticket. After we got our tickets, we went inside and waited in the next line. Before getting to the employee, I could tell he looked harried and somewhat overwhelmed. As I was handing him the tickets for my sister and I, I asked him how he was, and he looked absolutely shocked that he almost didn't know how to answer. The look on his face was priceless, in such an awesome way :)
In a way, there is a little bit of a risk in asking someone how their day is... from a crude point of view, I think some people don't ask how employees are doing as a way to better themselves and refuse to associate with someone 'lower' than them socially. That absolutely disgusts me, and I hope that case is not prevalent. In my opinion, I think people don't want to risk attempting to care for fellow human-beings. There's the risk of talking to a complete stranger, or that maybe the person will be honest and say they are having a bad day, or that maybe they will just blow you off. Despite these risks, we should ask how people are doing, because it serves a greater purpose.
As a Christ-follower, I believe we are all "Image-Bearers" as we were made in the image as God designed us to be... therefore, it should a pragmatic approach to ask how fellow image-bearers are doing. It only takes a second, and it could make all the difference for someone having a rough day.
Well that's enough ranting for now, I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas, and best blessings for 2010 if I don't blog til then!
26 December 2009
25 December 2009
A Christmas Offering
I'm not sure what possessed me to wake up so dang early on Christmas morning, I halfway wonder if years of getting up at the crack of dawn on the 25th of December every year of my life has something to do with it. This literally is my favorite time of year, I absolutely love Christmas music, getting presents for loved ones (receiving isn't half bad either ;]), and just enjoying quality time with my family. Every Christmas, and now every time I come home to San Diego, I am left in awe of my family. I'm very blessed to have the family that I do. It really does blow me away. :)
Of course, the primary reason for the joyousness of the CHRISTmas season is the celebration of the birth of the Savior of the entire world, Jesus Christ. This same Jesus came to bring life to the lifeless, rescue the unsaved, and truth to the lost.
The power behind this story floors me... it is very much a paradox that the savior of the world came from the humblest of origins. Not only was Jesus human, meaning he was momentarily stripped of his deity as part of the three-in-one, but he was born to a bunch of nobodies. Yeah, Joseph was of the line of the legendary King David, but he and Mary were extremely poor. It boggles my mind that He would come down in the flesh because He loved us so incredibly.
It's crazy to think the savior of the world came here in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger to poor parents.
Yesterday, for Christmas Eve, my Dad and I went to the service at my church. My mom was in the choir, and it was great getting to see how happy she was to be apart of it. Singing really is one of my Mom's greatest qualities, and I really hope she has the opportunity to be apart of the worship team on Sunday mornings.
Services at Journey are generally pretty well organized and produced, and yesterday was no exception. In an action-packed 80 minutes, we sang about six Christmas carols, had a couple solo performances, a theatrical presentation of our regression to sin in the Garden of Eden to Christ's emergence in Bethlehem, and a message from our teaching pastor Ed Noble. All of the elements dovetailed perfectly to produce a truly immaculate service!
Ed's talk focused on Hope. The Christmas Story provides the ultimate story of hope. As the world was sinking, suffocating in sin, Jesus came to pick us up out of the muck and give us the breath of life. He was known as Immanuel, which means 'God With Us.' That's pretty dang cool. Essentially, Christmas is Hope showing up.
In the sermon, Ed identified three ways in which we can have more hope:
1. You don't have to be somebody to have THE somebody care about you, much less include you in His plans.
In the Christmas story there are a lot of "hopeless" people that play a prominent role. Back in the days of Jesus, shepherds were considered the among the lowest of professions, as people were shepherds only because they could not attain a better job. In addition, they were not allowed to testify in court cause they were viewed as lazy and undependable. Furthermore, the magi (3 Wise Men), were viewed as illegitimate by the Jews because they practiced Astrology. As I mentioned earlier in this post, Mary and Joseph weren't well off either.
All of these provide backing that God really does enfranchise the meek and repressed, and that He cares to know each of us individuality and has good plans for our life. Which leads to the next point.
2. Hope may be small, but when it shows up, it can change everything!
Hope is not everything going my way, but hope is realizing that God has a good purpose in my life. I may be going through trials at any given moment, but I need to trust and have faith that He is going to lead me through it, and in these trials I can grow in closer communion with Him. It's crazy to think that God is for us!
3. Hope may be hidden, but it is there for those who choose to receive it (Him).
It is critical that we receive the hope offered from this story. Even though this takes place at the beginning of the first millennium, the hope persists to this very day. We just need to be intentional, and seek it with everything we have.
We can all use a little more hope, and this story provides more than we need. Thank you Jesus for all that you have given me, I pray that my life could be a living sacrifice to do your will, and you would equip me and grow me to do so. I thank you for living amongst us, and to exhibit a perfect relationship with the Father, and that I would take the hope displayed in this story and that I would apply it to my daily life to positively impact those around me. You were a friend of sinners, and I hope that you would provide me opportunities to be a friend to those around me. You are Lord of my life, and sovereign over all things, and I thank you that you do not go back on your promises for you are the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen!
Here's to Hope, Merry Christmas!
Of course, the primary reason for the joyousness of the CHRISTmas season is the celebration of the birth of the Savior of the entire world, Jesus Christ. This same Jesus came to bring life to the lifeless, rescue the unsaved, and truth to the lost.
The power behind this story floors me... it is very much a paradox that the savior of the world came from the humblest of origins. Not only was Jesus human, meaning he was momentarily stripped of his deity as part of the three-in-one, but he was born to a bunch of nobodies. Yeah, Joseph was of the line of the legendary King David, but he and Mary were extremely poor. It boggles my mind that He would come down in the flesh because He loved us so incredibly.
It's crazy to think the savior of the world came here in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger to poor parents.
Yesterday, for Christmas Eve, my Dad and I went to the service at my church. My mom was in the choir, and it was great getting to see how happy she was to be apart of it. Singing really is one of my Mom's greatest qualities, and I really hope she has the opportunity to be apart of the worship team on Sunday mornings.
Services at Journey are generally pretty well organized and produced, and yesterday was no exception. In an action-packed 80 minutes, we sang about six Christmas carols, had a couple solo performances, a theatrical presentation of our regression to sin in the Garden of Eden to Christ's emergence in Bethlehem, and a message from our teaching pastor Ed Noble. All of the elements dovetailed perfectly to produce a truly immaculate service!
Ed's talk focused on Hope. The Christmas Story provides the ultimate story of hope. As the world was sinking, suffocating in sin, Jesus came to pick us up out of the muck and give us the breath of life. He was known as Immanuel, which means 'God With Us.' That's pretty dang cool. Essentially, Christmas is Hope showing up.
In the sermon, Ed identified three ways in which we can have more hope:
1. You don't have to be somebody to have THE somebody care about you, much less include you in His plans.
In the Christmas story there are a lot of "hopeless" people that play a prominent role. Back in the days of Jesus, shepherds were considered the among the lowest of professions, as people were shepherds only because they could not attain a better job. In addition, they were not allowed to testify in court cause they were viewed as lazy and undependable. Furthermore, the magi (3 Wise Men), were viewed as illegitimate by the Jews because they practiced Astrology. As I mentioned earlier in this post, Mary and Joseph weren't well off either.
All of these provide backing that God really does enfranchise the meek and repressed, and that He cares to know each of us individuality and has good plans for our life. Which leads to the next point.
2. Hope may be small, but when it shows up, it can change everything!
Hope is not everything going my way, but hope is realizing that God has a good purpose in my life. I may be going through trials at any given moment, but I need to trust and have faith that He is going to lead me through it, and in these trials I can grow in closer communion with Him. It's crazy to think that God is for us!
3. Hope may be hidden, but it is there for those who choose to receive it (Him).
It is critical that we receive the hope offered from this story. Even though this takes place at the beginning of the first millennium, the hope persists to this very day. We just need to be intentional, and seek it with everything we have.
We can all use a little more hope, and this story provides more than we need. Thank you Jesus for all that you have given me, I pray that my life could be a living sacrifice to do your will, and you would equip me and grow me to do so. I thank you for living amongst us, and to exhibit a perfect relationship with the Father, and that I would take the hope displayed in this story and that I would apply it to my daily life to positively impact those around me. You were a friend of sinners, and I hope that you would provide me opportunities to be a friend to those around me. You are Lord of my life, and sovereign over all things, and I thank you that you do not go back on your promises for you are the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen!
Here's to Hope, Merry Christmas!
21 December 2009
A Forgettable, Yet Unforgettable Quarter
This title sounds like I'm on crack... but I think it is a clever little paradox. Fall Quarter is in the books, and academically, it is by far the worst of my life. Grades used to be my everything, now they seem like a footnote in my life. On a positive note, I don't have to retake any classes, but on a sour note, I just didn't apply myself that well this quarter. This was a good reality check, and I definitely learned my lesson that I'm certainly not unblemished.
My heart and mind were immersed elsewhere-- Leading a bible study was quite time consuming, but I think a worthy sacrifice. I didn't do a fantastic job this past quarter in that regard, but it is a learning process and I'm enjoying it with each passing week. But I need to have the right perspective... this break is definitely needed to get back on track. I have about the next 9 days or so to do some substantial soul-searching and life-planning.
There's only 10 days left in this decade... friggin crazy how a mere ten years ago people were freaking out about the "Y2K" virus. I don't even know if I knew what a virus was back then. Things were wayyy different then, and I'm sure in the next decade there will be plenty of crazy, crazy stuff going on.
Well that's all for now for my AM musings, I'm sure there will be a post or two to come in the next couple days. Cheers!
My heart and mind were immersed elsewhere-- Leading a bible study was quite time consuming, but I think a worthy sacrifice. I didn't do a fantastic job this past quarter in that regard, but it is a learning process and I'm enjoying it with each passing week. But I need to have the right perspective... this break is definitely needed to get back on track. I have about the next 9 days or so to do some substantial soul-searching and life-planning.
There's only 10 days left in this decade... friggin crazy how a mere ten years ago people were freaking out about the "Y2K" virus. I don't even know if I knew what a virus was back then. Things were wayyy different then, and I'm sure in the next decade there will be plenty of crazy, crazy stuff going on.
Well that's all for now for my AM musings, I'm sure there will be a post or two to come in the next couple days. Cheers!
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