What Have I Been Doing Lately

"What have you been doing lately
Your life could use improving greatly
I just wanted to know what's going on
But everything that goes is going wrong"
-Relient K, What Have You Been Doing Lately?

I know that I haven't posted in a while and yes, I feel quite bad about that. However, we press on. Nothing much exciting has been going on really, although this week looks like it will be quite busy. Today is really my only non-busy day and by non-busy, I mean I only have one exam and something else that I need to write because it is due (even though I should have written it two weeks ago). Tomorrow might be my busiest. I have a Math contest thing that my class (and people from other classes) are going to, not that I am good at math, I am just in the Senior Math class. At least we will probably get ice cream out of the deal. I have a hair appointment tomorrow also, but I stupidly made it for 3:00, which I may or may not be back for. Then, there is of course, youth group, however, in the middle of youth group (around 7:30) I will be picked up for the ride down to Olathe for MidAmerica X-treme. Yeah, lots to look forward to. Or dread, in my case. I should be excited, but I am really not. Oh, well, hopefully I get over that by tomorrow.

I wish I had a story to tell you or this post wouldn't be boring just me telling you what's going on in my slightly pathetic life, but if I do, I will be late and I feel as though I will already be running around today trying to get everything in order for tomorrow. So, yes, my running will resemble a chicken running around without a head.

P.S. I just realized that my post doesn't answer my title at all... Hmm, maybe later?

The Good Guy

So, I have a friend who has friends who make videos. Now, my friend wasn't there, but here is the video:

Watch Your Step

Rev. Dr. M. Rhodes once said, “Mr. Sheldon's venture is unique. It has at least challenged the thought of the reading world and as the aim of the author of the enterprise is sincere and in behalf of the world's highest good, good is bound to come of it.” The Mr. Sheldon that he is referring to is Charles Sheldon, author of the widely-known book In His Steps. This novel first published in 1896, published again in 1980 by Whitaker House, has sold more than 30 million copies world-wide and continues to be read all over the world. The theme in the book is to ask “What Would Jesus Do?” in all of life’s complex situations. It is a story that stirs souls by showing the lives of men and women who decide to take up a challenge given them by their Pastor to follow what they think Jesus would command them to do in their day-to-day dilemmas. A person should make conscious choices that follow in Jesus’ steps, but the book shows that Jesus is more of an example than a redeemer. If we forget that Jesus came to save the lost and only focus on our actions or deeds, we miss God’s purpose for sending Jesus Christ into the world. The purpose that is to lie down his own life so that we, sinners, not worthy of the glorious grace of God, could live.

After being confronted by a tramp, the pastor questions what it means to be a Christian. In His Steps shows several individual stories of people in the congregation of the First Church of Raymond that agree to commit their lives to Christian discipleship that demands more than a mental assent, that demands action. You follow a newspaper editor, a college president, a railroad executive, a pastor, a singer, a writer, and a wealthy philanthropist who face opposition when they make radical choices in order to follow Jesus’ steps. As Sheldon wrote, “The greatest question in all human life is summed up when we ask, ‘What would Jesus do?’ if, as we ask it, we also try to answer it from a growth in knowledge of Jesus Himself” (Sheldon 173).

The characters in the story encountered circumstances of poverty and deprivation. They underwent trials that come from giving of themselves. The singer turns down a good paying job so she can sing for drunkards. The newspaper editor gave up subscribers and lost money so he could print a paper that did not print advertisements or stories that did not glorify God. The wealthy philanthropist gave up money so she could help those less fortunate. The railroad executive gave up his job and status so he could do the morally right thing. They each gave of their money or their time to follow Jesus’ steps. Nothing that they did was at all bad nor did they have bad motives. However, everything they did was an action: something done or performed; an act or deed. “What if others say of us, when we do certain things” (Sheldon 27.) They lived out Jesus to the world, but the Jesus that they were showing was a Jesus that preformed deeds to save people, rather than a Jesus that bled and died for the sins of the world. “ […] those who volunteer to do this will pledge themselves for an entire year […] so to act” (Sheldon 24, emphasis added). “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness’” (Romans 4:2-3).

Sheldon, however, hit the nail on the head when he had the tramp enter the church and ask the pastor went being a Christian meant. “But I was wondering as I sat there under the gallery, if what you call following Jesus is the same thing as what He taught. What did He mean when He said: ‘Follow me’? […] What do you Christians mean by ‘following the steps of Jesus’? (Sheldon 15). Charles Sheldon sparked thoughts in many more lives than just the characters in his book. He started a fad where everyone’s motto became “What Would Jesus Do?” When do we move past just wearing the bracelets and really start not only living like Christ, but being changed from the inside. In His Steps explores different ways that people had to give up something that was important to them. Sheldon’s book realistically shows that not everyone finds it appealing that following Jesus means suffering for Jesus. Following Jesus is a great idea, but when it comes to actually doing it, not everyone finds it easy. That is why the characters in Sheldon’s book should be applauded, because they knew the cost and took their crosses and followed Jesus’ steps anyway.

Sheldon effectively wrote a book that touched millions. Sheldon said, “No one is more grateful than I am, as it confirms the faith I have always held that no subject is more interesting and vital to the human race than religion.” “On February 24, 1946, two days before his eighty-ninth birthday, Charles Sheldon, after suffering a stroke, died peacefully in bed. As I closed the book on his life, I realized Charles Sheldon left us all an enduring legacy with his powerful question, one which I ask myself each time I face a crossroad: What would Jesus do?” (Neighbors, par. 21). For that, Charles Sheldon’s book truly achieved his purpose successfully.

In His Steps was written over a century ago, but can still be applied to our life and culture, despite a few differences. It still asks a question that each person should ask himself or herself in any and every situation. A spiritually dead person cannot live a spiritually Christian life. Christ, the redeemer, is the giver so we are the receivers. Christ did the ultimate act and we are the acted upon. We can do as many good, righteous or holy deeds as we feel are right, but in the end, we will not be able to save anyone. Christ does the saving. We are always the redeemed; Christ will always be the Redeemer of our souls. Sheldon’s book was a magnificent work of fiction, but we cannot forget that actions will not save us. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Philippians 2:8-9). We must remember is that deeds and actions are great. Much like Charles Sheldon asked us over a hundred years ago, “What would Jesus do?” we must also ask ourselves what our motives are for our actions.

Works Cited
Neighbors, Chuck. "The Story of "In His Steps"." 1996. 11 Mar 2008. http://www.mastersimage.com/articles/ihs.htm.
Sheldon, Charles M. In His Steps. New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1980.
The Bible. New International Version. 1984. International Bible Society.

What Makes You Think to Pray?

Pete Says Hell_3.29.09 from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.

My old youth pastor's wife told us all the time that we should pray non-stop. Specifically, I remember her telling us that she would always pray in the shower, because you are taking the time anyway, so you might as well pray while you shower. This video reminds me of that and how there are times when we need to be reminded to pray. It is easy to get busy and forget, so sometimes we need reminders to bring prayer back to the front of our thoughts. This is interesting, so I think I am going to find some objects. (I will take ideas.) It makes me curious, what reminds you to pray?

My Mom Used to Think Vacuum was only Spelled with One U

"Enjoy failure and learn from it. You can never learn from success." -James Dyson

If you have ever seen a Dyson vacuum cleaner commercial, you know who I just quoted. My brother and I always joke every time we see him on TV that he has no life because all he cares about is vacuum cleaners. However, Wikipedia just ruined that for me. Turns out he has a life and a wife and three kids. His net worth is $2 billion. He is a hardcore inventor. Anyway, I found this interesting quote and thought that I would share it with you. It took him five years and 5,127 prototypes, he finally sold his first vacuum cleaner. And look at him now--he's a success.

Some other quotes from Mr. Dyson are:
"I just want things to work properly."
"After the idea, there is plenty of time to learn the technology."
"Better to ask twice than lose your way once."

On a side now, when your vacuum cleaner doesn't work, you say, "It sucks." However, if it really sucked, you wouldn't have a problem.

You Can Get on Up or You Can Get on Down

...But you cannot just stand around.

My friends went to prom last Saturday. I got to pose with some pretty ladies. (P.S. I didn't go prom, but it's over with, so let's all get over it, too?)

More Than Just Old

In 2002, seven percent of the world population was over sixty-five years old. China has the largest elderly population (ninety-two million) but this is only seven percent of the Chinese population. In 2000, the United States population consisted of twelve percent over the age of sixty-five. Population experts say that over seventeen percent of America’s population will be considered elderly in 2020.

Lloyd said in Dumb and Dumber, “Senior Citizens, while slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can serve a purpose.” We are the generation of the future; we don’t really look at the generation that got us where we are today. Too often we overlook the elderly. We brush them off as old people who don’t know anything. Sometimes we forget that they need grace just as much as we do. Working at a nursing center, I have learned that elderly people may do wacky things, but they have lived hard lives, and most of all, they are people, too. I want everyone to see lives with value when they look at elderly people.

I only work in the kitchen at the nursing center, but in the eight months that I have worked there, I have grown attached to all of my elderly residents. Sometimes it is hard to have a positive attitude, especially when there are residents yelling at me for potatoes. I always put on a smile. When it starts out as a fake smile, it eventually turns into a genuine smile because my residents do wacky things. Some spit out their teeth and others just spit out their food. Sometimes it is downright disgusting, but sometimes it is heartwarmingly hilarious. They put the whole saltshaker in their prunes. The slightly confused elderly people say some wacky things, most of which I don’t understand. One of the residents who can barely hear or see once screamed that she needed light bulbs.

While I clear the dishes in the dining room, there are some residents who are waiting to go back to their rooms. At times I get the opportunity to talk to them. There is one resident who I especially love talking to. She is in her eighties and used to work in the nursing center as a nurse. She once told me that she never knew the meaning of working part time. Even though she sometimes falls asleep at the table and in front of the television, her favorite show on Sundays is Lawrence Welk and she doesn’t eat butter. She has lived a full life and learned to help and serve people. She doesn’t mind sitting by the residents who need a little more assistance, because she has an encouraging heart and loves other people. She has lived a life all her own and even though she lives in a nursing center, which is a hard adjustment for most, she has settled in and always seems content. I don’t know a lot about her life, though. I don’t know if she had a husband or if she had kids. I don’t know much about her, but I do know that long before I even entered the world, she was a nurse, helping and loving others.

One of the most important lessons that I have learned is that just because elderly people are “old,” they are still people. They have feelings, experience pain, and need love and encouragement. There is a resident that most of the certified nurses’ assistants don’t really like to work with, because she asks to go to the bathroom about twenty times in one hour, randomly starts eating other people’s food and because she can be a little annoying. However, I have found that when you say hello to her and ask how she is, she smiles and looks so happy. She just wants someone to care about her. She has the same desire that everyone has—to be cared about.

Recently a new resident arrived at the nursing center. She has a black and blue arm because she shut it in a door. It is obvious she doesn’t want to be there. The first night she was there, she didn’t say anything and was the last one in the dining room, even though she scarcely touched her food. The next night, her husband came to sit with her and feed her. It is the kind of relationship that everyone hopes to have, a love that hasn’t changed over time. Before it was time for him to leave, she looked at him with sad eyes, “Do you have to leave? Please don’t go.”

It’s strange to think that I used to be afraid of old people. I used to feel awkward around them. I thought that we had no common ground. There was no way anyone could be more different than me. All that changed when I start working at the nursing center. I never intended for it to be that way, I only wanted to earn money. I wanted to raise money so that I could go into college for ministry. I never used to think that a nursing center could be a place for ministry, until I got to know some elderly people in the nursing center. They need grace just as much as anyone else. Even though they may do wacky things, they have learned lessons through living their own lives and they are people of value, too.

Raising Your Hands

Now in my church, not many people raise their hands to worship God. If someone does, they are probably the only one. Yesterday during Sunday morning service, I saw the birth and death of a young worshipper. She is just six years old. She started by closing her eyes during the song and then she slowly raised her little hand and put it up in the air. She held it there for a couple seconds before she looked around. Then she saw that no one else had his or her hand up, so she slowly lower her hand. She closed her eyes a couple more times, but didn't see anyone else doing it, so she gave up. She sat up and down every now and then, but she just stuck to singing, no raising of hands, just the singing. And so, I am standing there thinking, how sad. I want the young ones in my church to develop a fire and passion for God and I want them to worship God with everything that they have.

So, that makes me look at my own life. Am I worshipping God with all within me? I am not saying that you need to raise your hands or even that music is the only way to worship, but why don't I raise my hands and surrender? Can you surrender with your hands down? What about adoration? Can I adore someone with my hands safely resting on the pew in front of me? Maybe I don't raise my hands in church because I don't want to stand out and I don't want people to look at me. Maybe I don't raise my hands because I have gotten comfortable in church, it is my routine to just sing the songs. I do know that God requires all of me.

"So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands" (Psalm 63:4)

"Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven" (Lamentations 3:41).