Whoever has ears, let them hear

So much has been going on in my life and in the life of 2nd Mile Ministries.  I've never been one to participate in discussions of any kind of importance.  I've never mastered the back-and-forth of a conversation.  As we are surrounded by media, agendas, issues, and just general darkness, it has been difficult for me to make sense of it, like I'm navigating through thicker and thicker fog.  I think human nature is to only carry the burdens that you want to carry.  You may hurt for an individual going through a struggle, but then you hear about a big catastrophe and sometimes it's easier to be thankful it wasn't you and just move on.  As Olympians are caught doping, politicians abandon integrity, and people respond to their fears with aggression, waiting for the next scandal, offensive words, or incredibly tragic news story builds up the muscle memory of our hearts to care less and less, wince less frequently, and get frustrated at our inability to change.

With very little experiential hope of a complete transformation of the world, a great awakening, if you will, I can take comfort knowing and seeing transformation happen on a small scale in the Brentwood neighborhood.  I am more and more convinced of this the longer I'm in ministry, but the love of Jesus is the answer.  I would say that love in general is the answer, but the kind of love that Jesus has given us, the kind that always flows and never runs out, always gives and never takes, and always considers the other rather than the self is the only kind that can bring true redemption, reconciliation, recovery, and real growth.

Challenge Circle with Darien (boy on right) leading his team in cheers

Pretty much the entire month of July, we held our 8th Annual Summer Day Camp.  I led the Sports and Education stations this year, while heading up Challenge Circle many days as well.  Many of the kids were brand new to 2nd Mile and it has led to some very cool connections.  There were also some students that have been with us for over five years.  The bond that we've had with them has grown more and more.  Outside of immediate family, people that will probably have the most influence on a kid will be their teachers (who many only have for one year of their life), a coach (who may coach them a few years), or a mentor/tutor type of person.  I've had the privilege of seeing firsthand how relationships grow, how God makes each individual unique with gifts and passions, and how trust is mutually developed over a longer period of time.  When a kid knows you are there for them year after year, a transformation begins to happen.  They become more and more like the people who show up for them.  That's why it's so important for Christians (whether a newborn in the faith or a mature one) to remain in Christ, so we are more like him and see just how trust-worthy he is.

Water Day, a must at camp in Florida

The mission is not just for missionaries.  The mission is to make Christ known, who he is and what he has done, and what that means for sinners like us.  You can create stricter and more detailed laws, you can have an open dialogue across racial lines, you can throw money at any kind of problem, but where true growth happens, it's gotta be out of the love that was so freely given to us.  Pride is like headphones in a conversation.  I'm right and anything you say that slightly contradicts me, I'm ready with my defense, my blame-shifting, my justification.  Sometimes the best way to love someone is just to listen.  Every person has a story.  Every person has a song.  They may have nobody around them to hear them sing it.  As the years go by, my song includes the melodies and chord progressions of the songs I witness here.  As I write my blogs and sing my song, know that it includes some of what I'm seeing here.  In a place where people are forgotten, ignored, or dismissed as not good enough, I hope to get this song stuck in your head.  I pray you have the opportunity and courage to listen to those who may not have a loud voice yet their song is powerful, to those whose song clashes with yours challenging its overarching truth, and to those who aren't getting your song in their head.

Already into week 2 of the school year, we hope to enjoy this process of relationship-building again as we have ten new students (and very young I might add) with little-to-no relationship with us thus far.  Continue to pray for our high school program as it's only a couple months old and already bearing fruit.  Pray for the director's continued leadership and endurance in pouring his life into the next generation of local leadership.  Despite being a huge task, pray for the world, pray for the governing leaders (1 Tim. 2), pray for justice, pray for direction in your own life and how to advocate for those things that God has instructed and even commanded you to do.  Much love.  Check out more camp pictures on our facebook page.  (2nd Mile Ministries)

They sing their song...

...and I'm loving it.

Under Construction

 I left church yesterday dwelling on this short phrase that the pastor ended his sermon with.  In exciting anticipation of the day that he'll see Jesus and become like him, pastor H.B. Charles said that he may not look like much now, but one day he will look like what, or I should say who, he sees--Jesus Christ.  He said that he was just "temporarily under construction."  Ephesians 6:17 talks of the helmet of salvation.  First Thessalonians 5:8 says to put on the hope of salvation as a helmet.  It is important to protect our minds and have confidence of our salvation.  This assurance keeps us from living in "doubt, distraction, or discouragement" (-H.B.).  God makes us righteous when we put our trust in Him, and He continues to make us righteous until we see Him.

Coincidentally, yesterday I also completed C.S. Lewis's book The Screwtape Letters.  For those unfamiliar, this book is a fictional compilation of letters written from a demon named Screwtape to his demon nephew Wormwood, giving advice on how to manipulate and steer his human subject away from the Enemy (God).  Each letter displays the intricate aspects of human weakness and tendencies to backslide away from the Lord.  The last letter in the book beautifully describes the moment when the human subject died in the war and finally understood Wormwood's dealings with him when he was alive.  Screwtape writes to his nephew, "You have let a soul slip through your fingers.  The howl of sharpened famine for that loss re-echoes at this moment through all the levels of the Kingdom of Noise down to the very Throne itself.  It makes me mad to think of it.  How well I know what happened at the instant when they snatched him from you!  There was a sudden clearing of his eyes (was there not?) as he saw you for the first time, and recognised the part you had had in him and knew that you had it no longer.  Just think (and let it be the beginning of your agony) what he felt at that moment; as if a scab had fallen from an old sore, as if he were emerging from a hideous, shell-like tetter, as if he shuffled off for good and all a defiled, wet, clinging garment.  By Hell, it is misery enough to see them in their mortal days taking off dirtied and uncomfortable clothes and splashing in hot water and giving little grunts of pleasure--stretching their eased limbs.  What, then, of this final stripping, this complete cleansing?"  I wonder what it would be like to experience the complete absence of sin, to understand entirely what God has done for us in our lives and how little we really understood of it on earth.  As of right now, I am currently learning more and more of what it means to be a Christian, walking more than talking.  I still have many ways to improve, but God is my construction worker.

With the start of our high school program this summer, it adds to 2nd Mile's leadership pathway which started with elementary school students, then the Connect Middle School Program was added, and now high school.  The end of the school year was last Friday and I want to take a little time sharing about our six 5th graders moving on to middle school.  This is the fifth year of the two:fiftytwo After School Program and this is the most 5th graders we've ever had in one year of the program.

Ferrell and Mekhi

I've known Ferrell and Mekhi for a long time.  They started in our program when they were in 2nd grade, so for four years they've grown in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man.  I met Ferrell when he was five years old back at summer camp in 2010.  He has a great sense of humor and is very personable with everyone.  He loves football and science, and we bond over some Dude Perfect videos.  It's been fun hanging out with him at the park and even at my house over the years.  We have an agreement that when he gets his driver's license, he'll take me wherever I want to go.  Pretty sweet deal!  He won our Leadership Award at the end of the year and we are excited to see how God shapes his future.  As his grandmother says, "He'll be with y'all forever," and so far that statement is true.  I've never seen a friendship tighter than the one Ferrell and Mekhi have.  Even since 2nd grade, they were great friends despite going to different schools and only meeting at our program.  Mekhi used to be very fidgety and sad/angry at times, but I've seen him grow socially, a lot credited to Ferrell.  He has a very creative mind and works well with his hands.  He got our engineering award and I don't know anyone who knows how to make more kinds of paper airplanes than he can.

Christian

I've only known Christian for the past two years, but his close friendship to Ferrell and Mekhi makes it feel like we've known him for much longer.  Christian also has a great sense of humor and is always willing to help out.  His serving heart isn't without its own purposes as he often tries to find ways to get the things he wants, like food, school supplies, etc.  We think he could be a business owner someday as he is very creative in the ways he helps and makes others happy in order that he himself is helped out.  We hope to spend as much time as we can with him since there's a possibility of moving in his future.

For the 5th grade girls, we have Breana, Caydince, and Myesha.  This was Breana's first year in our after school program, but we knew her from summer day camp so she had some familiarity with 2nd Mile Ministries.  She was the female recipient of our Leadership Award and has demonstrated this leadership by getting other girls excited to start a dance team during our rec time, and by creating box houses and eventually an entire cardboard neighborhood in one section of our facilities.  I feel the least worried about her transition to middle school as I feel she will do great.

Breana and Caydince making/eating sushi

This was Caydince's second year with us.  She and her brother Caden, also in the program, live right next door to the church that our program is held.  She will just as quickly toss a football around as she would do cartwheels and splits and handstands and other gymnastics.  Like Christian, I never really see anyone have a problem with her.  She is a joy to be around.

Myesha

And lastly, Myesha's story is amazing.  She seems to always be smiling and is friendly to everyone, no matter who it is.  I first met Myesha when she joined our program when she was in 3rd grade.  After leaving the program for a year, she came back to us in her 5th grade year.  She has a beautiful voice and has taken piano lessons all year.  What's amazing to me about her story is her ability to be so joyful yet be going through lots of, we'll just say, "stuff" in her family.

As some of these kids either move, or go away for the summer, please pray that they would have people who love them in their lives, pouring into them.  We hope that they are able to continue into Connect (middle school) with us and continue to discover who God is and who they are growing up to become.  God already knows what the final product of these kids will be.  Please pray. Please.

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome

Back in the fall, I completed a book called To Be a Slave by Julius Lester.  It's a nonfiction collection of personal accounts of what slavery was like at the time, through the eyes of slaves.  It is labeled a children's book, but the content is very descriptive and at times graphic.  Since what slavery entailed was different depending on where you were, there are various descriptions of all the types of conditions people went through, from bad to worse.  The book starts out with the horrors of abduction in Africa.  It continued on to the slave trade and separation of families.  Next, the horrible working conditions on the plantations.

While reading this book, it showed me a point of view that I never learned in school.  I may have been told about the bad conditions of slavery, but never in this much detail or from the mouth of a slave.  It was raw and made me think about how powerful and evil power and evil can be.

When we sin, it is quite natural to want to sweep it under the rug and forget that we did anything wrong.  A kid might try to glue a broken vase back together as to not get in trouble.  Also when we sin, it is almost automatic to either blame someone else, justify our wrong-doing, or escape from condemnation.  There's a video I'm including in this blog that I watched just at the start of the new year.  It's a lecture by Dr. Joy de Gruy Leary about the conditions of slavery, and the effects afterwards.  There was a lot of "sweeping under the rug" and it makes me think about the United States today.

I ask that you please watch this.  That fictional TV show can wait.  There will be another sporting event.  I know some of you may have a legitimate excuse to not watch this.  You may start the video and within five minutes you may have assumptions or judgments about what is being said.  I ask that you ask yourself, "What is my reaction to this video?  Is it anger, confusion, disbelief, dismissal?  Why do I feel this way?"  To move on with your life after this video without engaging what you think about these issues, unfortunately, reveals what I believe to be the response of many people today when thinking about modern-day racism, class issues, and stereotypes.  These issues are so much more prevalent in my life now that I'm aware of it and living where I live.  Please take the time.  I'd love to engage in some conversation about it too if you'd like.

Growing

2nd Mile Ministries has been going through changes the past few months.  First off, we've got a new Executive Director.  He and his wife and four kids have been very present in many of the ministry's gatherings and events.  They are already beginning to feel like family.  Secondly, we've just hired a high school director!  Five years ago, the idea to build an after school program was put into play and now some of those original two:fiftytwo After School Program students will be heading into high school at the end of this school year.  The Connect Middle School Program has been growing and getting much more consistent and well-structured.  I'm not exactly sure what the high school program will entail.  It is still in the planning stages.  I'm sure leadership development will be a big part of it, as many of the students in this neighborhood can't see life after high school having anything good for them.  We are starting to name this growing process for the kids The Leadership Pathway in hopes that our developing relationships with 2nd graders will continue to grow all the way through their teenage years.  Looking back on when some of these kids were just starting out with 2nd Mile, I'm encouraged by the growth God has allowed us to see.  Whether fast or slow, big or small, the growth is there.

Hannah Montana is a good read

When God broke my heart for these kids, he gave me a vision of where they'd be in twenty-plus years.  I cried at the thought of that.  God knows where they'll be and he allowed me to taste some of that.  As I get older and my muscles get more easily sore, I'm energized by the kids' energy and excitement.  The longer I spend with them and speak into their tough moments, the stronger bond I feel.  I genuinely love these kids and hurt when things happen to them beyond their control.  

We recently had Field Day, my favorite days of the school year.  The kids spend time outside throwing footballs, bouncing basketballs, running, jumping rope, and doing long jumps.  Why I love this day so much is because for the past three years, I've kept statistics.  I really enjoy keeping track of numbers and what trends and stories they tell.  (This probably began with my basketball card collecting days.)  I remember keeping stats of my elementary and middle school games.  I would even watch the NBA All-Star game and keep track of the players' point totals, even when I knew they'd be printed in the paper the next morning.  Why I love field day is because it shows a measureable amount of growth that we might not otherwise see.  I'm sure many of you have experienced or seen people measure how tall their kids grow each year.  We don't see the growth until we measure it with a ruler.  Although I get enjoyment out of seeing who the faster kid ever at two:fiftytwo was, I get more excited when I see the kids doing better year after year.  We do field day once in the fall and once in the spring.  I think it's a cool idea to think about 2nd Mile Ministries in a historical way as well as spiritual.  Ten years from now, maybe Mekhi's 11ft 3in long jump record will still be standing, and he can look back with fond memories of field day.  Maybe no one will ever run faster from one pole to the other than Jovan did in 5.08 seconds.  I hope that 2nd Mile Ministries won't just be a place some kids went after school to stay safe.  I hope it's a place where their lives are touched and loved by God and they can point to that love as a great part of their life.  Lastly, I hope that whatever positive effect this ministry has on these kids, they can reinvest to the next groups of youngens with their own influence and positivity.

Few things to note:

Lizards are everywhere in Jacksonville

Jake and Dani (After School Program Director) got married!

My nephew Lucas came to visit me
for a week.  It was awesome!

Prayer requests:

-Missi and I have been trying to buy a house and the process is taking much longer than what was originally said.  Pray for patience, but also that things move forward in this process.

-Back in January, Missi and I experienced a miscarriage.  God has provided us with comfort and encouragement from people.  Pray for us, and especially Missi, as her heart can still break at times in remembrance.

-Neek's transition to high school director.  Pray for wisdom and innovation and leadership as he plans the program.

Helping Relationships

It seems that every new year, I still manage to write down the wrong date once in awhile.  It's 2016, not 2015.  Although the experiences of the past now fade, their memories strive to revive truths about the world we live in.  It feels like yesterday I was in college.  But it's been six years!  As I recall favorite memories with some of the kids here, I realize that the frequency and depth of those experiences weigh much more heavily on their young lives.  I've known some of them for almost five years and they grow up right in front of my eyes.  I cannot emphasize enough how a simple encouraging word or moment of grace can bring light into a life.  Following through on a thought to call someone or pray for them is something that the devil loves to rob me of or distract me from.  That TV show isn't more important, or that football game, or that sense of laziness and comfort.

In continuing my counseling education, this semester I'm taking one class called Helping Relationships.  So far, I have been challenged to focus on other people before myself as well as convicted of my own tendencies to shy away from any real conversations, any real talk.  Many of my friendships are based on common secular interests (sports, music, news), but rarely on how we both are experiencing life and how we can be pointing each other towards Christ.  God has been using these classes to reveal parts of my heart that are dark and guarded heavily from letting God take over.  One in particular includes my fear of man.  I'm often way too concerned about what others think of me.  I can simultaneously wallow in both self-pity as well as pride.  There are even times when I want people to see my efforts in trying not to care about what people think of me.  

This morning I read Matthew 6.  If you have time, read it.  I'm a slow reader and it took me like ten minutes.  Jesus expounds on the theme of the hypocritical man who does things so that others may see.  They give to the needy in streets so that they may be praised by others. (6:2).  They pray on street corners that they may be seen by others. (6:5).  They disfigure their faces when they fast so their fasting may be seen by others. (6:16).  God knows the depth of our hearts and can see through our actions to know our true motives.  Are we living for ourselves or for him?  If you asked me whether or not I love people, my first thought is, absolutely I do, but when I think about my interactions, I seem to be less concerned about what's actually going on in their life and more concerned about not saying anything stupid or awkward.

I know there's grace for me and I need not spend any more time wallowing.  Please pray that my life would more and more reflect that of Christ's.  He loved in grace and in truth.  Every time I open my mouth is an opportunity to love, encourage, and reveal the truth of the gospel to someone.  I don't want to blindly walk through life unaffected by the death and resurrection of Jesus.  I'm here for but a minute and then I'll be swept away to eternity.

Ferrell, Agel, Christian (in red), and Mekhi taking a water break

December in Jacksonville showed some great weather for us (sorry).  We had another Boy's Day where we went to the Andrew Jackson High School track and played some flag football.  At our after school program, the boys often play football and have to play two-hand touch because of the cement ground.  It was fun to see them enjoy a little more freedom to jump, dive, bump, and hit on some "soft" grass.  These are the days the boys have told me they love the best, days away from the program, somewhere they don't usually get to go.  This shared experience only adds building blocks to their already strong friendships.

This past school year, I've been absent from most of the fun Friday activities in order to focus on school work.  However, last Thursday substituted as the day for a fun activity due to no school that Friday.  I got to lead in one of my favorite activities, cup stacking.  Three teams tried to build for height and durability.  Midway through the building process, I snuck around the room with a nerf gun and attempted to knock them down.  Aware of this, teams enrolled one or two teammates to guard their structures from destruction.  It was a very fun experience.  Kids got excited and into it as I tried to surprise them by hiding behind corners and curtains.  The times that I most cherish in ministry are those shared fun experiences that I can then share with the kids in future years.  "Remember when we played flag football?" or "Remember when we stacked cups up to the ceiling?"  It is my prayer that as these kids get older, what they reminisce about will include very significant encounters with God and how he has changed their lives.  I'm not always sure exactly what my role is in their lives, but I trust God to make it more and more clear as I continue to seek him in my life.

Biblical Interpretation in Community

How often do you read the Bible in a group setting?  Before you think of your answer, eliminate the times the pastor at your church reads passages of Scripture out loud to the congregation.  Now how often do you read the Bible in a group setting?  You may have once been part of a Bible study, read through a book of the Bible or through a Christian-themed book, but now find yourself a part of no group of believers that feed on the word of God.  You only now occasionally read for yourself.

I'm talking to myself a whole lot here.  My Bible reading is either on my own in times when I'm alone, when the preacher says, "Follow along while I read," or recently when I have an assignment for my classes.  Nowhere in that list includes a time when I read the Bible with another human being in hopes to study, learn, interpret, and apply the word of God to my life.  "But Andrew, it's a good thing to spend time reading the Bible on your own, especially in quiet times."  I agree, this does often reveal a heart that longs more and more for a deeper relationship with the Lord.  However, I would like to use this blog to communicate the importance of reading Scripture in community and point out why it can be dangerous to avoid such a great opportunity.

One of my exam study questions asked for us to identify five reasons why biblical interpretation in community was important.  Here I go, without looking back at my notes.  First, our sin can cause us to approach Scripture willfully blind, seeing, reading, and learning only what we want to see, read, and learn.  This can warp our interpretation and can cramp our ability to apply the Bible to ethics in relevant ways without seeing the totality of a theme across Scripture.  Second, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are our brothers' and sisters' keeper.  It is our responsibility to encourage and lift one another up in word and truth.  Third, we have the limitation of one human life's experience at looking at Scripture through our one lens.  Reading in community will provide many more perspectives in understanding not just "what this passage means to me uniquely," but rather "what aspects of the text am I missing or have an unclear understanding of?"  Fourth, everything that is written in the Bible, at its original written time in history, was meant to be read to the masses or specific churches, not individuals.  The body of Christ has many members, but is of one body.  If our personal application of Scripture does not stack up to the mission of the church as a whole, our application is misinformed.  Finally, the gospel message is meant for people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation (Rev. 5:9).  If our reading of the Bible is with a group of believers with similar social, cultural, racial, historical backgrounds as you, this will also create some blind spots to interpretation.

I can get wrapped up in my own understanding of Scripture and haven't taken time to appreciate that different views people have of the word doesn't mean that they are necessarily wrong and that mine are right, it just means that they bring with them a unique lens in which to view Scripture, which shouldn't make interpretation foggier, but should reveal the richness and depth of God through Jesus Christ.

In hopes to go in the right direction, my wife and I are going to start attending a Bible study class at our church.  I'm excited because the group will be filled with fellow believers who look, act, and think differently than we do.  Please pray that going in this direction challenges us to learn more about God, our spiritual family, each other, and our own selves.

Meeting with Ruth earlier today on Skype right before she
was going on a roadtrip to meet with Jonathan.  Don't worry,
she drove safely and kept her eyes on the road.

For those of you who don't know, the executive director of 2nd Mile Ministries, Ruth, is in transition to step down and allow our new director, Jonathan Blackburn, step in to take over.  Their leadership will overlap so a successful handoff can occur.  For more about the new director, you can go to http://www.2ndmile-jax.com/ and read about his story.  Ruth will be missed by many, since she was one of the founders of the ministry all the way back in 2003.  There will probably be a future blog devoted just to her as she leaves for good.  Pray the transition goes smoothly.

In conclusion, think about creative ways in which you could read and interpret Scripture in community if you haven't already.  It could be as simple as starting with your own family.  Maybe your church provides small groups to join.  If not, maybe God wants you to step out in faith and ask people you know to start reading, with the intention of loving God and his people better.  I will pray for you, whoever you may be.

"Worth is more than a picture"

If you see a kid in your care standing up, facing the corner of the room, and crying, what would you do?

If you see another kid quickly sit to the ground with an pouting face after getting out at four-square, what would you do?

Semajah, a 4th grader,
getting ready to write a response
to what she read

Every year I'm with 2nd Mile Ministries, God blesses us with unique situations where we cannot trust in ourselves, only God.  Frustrating times as they may be, when the dust settles, God has us shake off the dust, and follow Him.

Like many people might do, I tried to talk to the first kid, ask what was wrong, or what happened.  Nothing.  No answer, no movement, nothing.  Even with asking him easy yes or no questions, nothing.  This went on for at least a half hour.  Seeing my own ability and strength to handle situations fail is very hard to go through and labels the day as "bad" when I go home.  With the second kid, every little thing bothers them.  Complaining and falling to the ground in disappointment rule their world.  It can get annoying when I see their reaction to something that is not a big deal.  I do remember crying one time that I got out in a fun family game of plastic baseball when I was like 5 or 6, not 4th grade.

Creation to Revelation spans a long time.  The events of Revelation haven't occurred yet, so we are chronologically between these two passages.  For anyone who has read the Bible, attempts to bridge the events to our current world are almost innate.  Either you go into a reading session trying to go from your circumstance to a nugget of wisdom from the word, or in your reading you realize that there are things in your life similar to the events of scripture.  This past to present or present to past path is what makes the Bible worth reading.  The Holy Spirit leads us towards wisdom when reading scripture (1 Cor. 2:6-16).  However, I've noticed that sometimes I'm quick with "knowing" what a passage is about when really, considering the original context, I have a very fuzzy understanding.

In my Biblical Interpretation class, I've seen the value in dissecting text from big to small.  Let me explain.  One of our assignments was to read the entire book of Acts and pick five possible themes.  I had never done this before.  I've read Acts in its entirety, but a chapter at a time, not altogether.  Then, after finding the themes, we were to dissect Acts 8:26-40, when Philip meets the Ethiopian eunuch on the road.  (Take time to read it).  If you were asked what the main point of this passage of Acts was, you may say that it was an account of when an old prophecy in Isaiah was explained by Philip to a man seeking to know the truth.  The gospel was shared and the eunuch, after being baptized, went on rejoicing.  Great story!  However, having read Acts altogether, I noticed that this section is the only time when one person shares the gospel with one other person.  All other places talk about the disciples preaching to crowds of believers, unbelievers, in the big cities, and before the authorities, but never to one person.  Seeing the bigger picture allowed me to more closely perceive why Luke included it in his book of Acts.  Salvation was no longer set aside for Jews, but was opening up to Gentiles as well, even the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).  The depiction of the eunuch's strange ethnicity and social standing would serve to declare that the gospel is to be shared with those outside our own understanding.

To go even further, reading the book of Acts in the context of the entire Bible would be quite the feat as well.  Knowing that the same God who wrote the Old Testament had plans to redeem his chosen through Jesus in the New Testament helps us understand not the main point of Acts, but God's main point.

We may read a blurb about David, a man after God's own heart, and hope to emulate his devotion (you know, before he went bad).  But the story of David isn't about David at all, it's about God.  Reading scripture with this new mindset I believe will help me understand more clearly the nature of God and keep me from reading scripture with my own point of views.

I turned in a paper yesterday for my Dynamics in Biblical Change that had me write extensively on a time in my life where I've experienced significant suffering.  It was hard to do, relive a painful memory.  However, when I started to remember a specific moment in my life, other memories from different times in my life popped up that were similar to that time.  My reaction to the "suffering", if not grounded in Christ, would lead to false interpretations of the world.

In similar ways, analyzing one moment in these kids' lives will not get me very far.  Understanding their patterns and the usual reactions to situations will slowly but surely provide more clarity on what they are experiencing and more importantly, what they are not believing about God.  How they react to whatever they may be experiencing and suffering may show a glimmer of what their false beliefs are.  For the first kid, this behavior is brand new.  Last year, they were so helpful, quick to be goofy.  We don't know what changed and why they feel the need to stonewall when "suffering."  For the second kid, we see this behavior a lot.  It's easier to see they may find their worth in being more athletic than everyone else and getting out in four-square (or plastic baseball) reveals flaws and weaknesses.

I'm excited to see how God shapes my story from birth to death, from completely separated from him to enjoying my new heavenly body in heaven (2 Cor. 5).  Pray as we seek to share the gospel with these kids.  Pray God would soften their hearts to receive him and that their "sufferings" would one day be given to a completely sovereign Lord.

Jovan, our other 4th grader, helping transport mulch during our Action Day.
He's a beast.  He probably did more work than the adults.