Shadow

Shadows are a strange concept. Mainly they are thought of as something that looms in the darkness. That is true. But in order for shadows to exist, there must first be light. Another strange thing about shadows - by their appearance, they are not darker in different light; they are more defined in broad daylight, but the actual brightness does truly appear to be different.

Shadows are the place where all the monsters are. Shadows haunt men. In the shadows of the night, my inmost being hates anything I can think about. The planet is defined by objects on it, but the only backdrop is shadow. We see the sun, the sun sees everything, everything sees shadow. It is the starkness between light and dark, warm and cold, good and evil.

Shadows exist. Shadows creep. Shadows plague.

And for as long as I am here, my canvas will contain - in some places, in some way -

shadow.

Learning Summer Lessons Again

July has come. It is a sunny day in Phoenix; high, 112. As the summer rolls on, I continue to think on all the lessons learned in Indiana in June. It has been only a week and a half since I boarded my return flight to the Valley of the Sun. But my venture to Arizona this time has been much different than last year's. Someone was waiting. The house in which I live has now been held by my family for over a year.

The distraction of it all is diminished. As I feel the affections that so defined me, and think the thoughts that were my identity last summer, God reminds me that His kingdom is to come first. It is not simply a duty - it is a delight, my everything. As these things keep rolling through my mind, I pray that God will make me fruitful for His service and work. May my life realize and reflect His power and grace as He draws me to my knees in His fellowship.

Thanksgivings and Requests from CYIA

Thank You, Father, for the days we shared at CYIA.
Thank You, God, for those You placed into my care.
Thank You for making me strong enough for this trip and seeing me through to the very last day.
Thank You that I was never alone.
Thank You so much for the time we had together.
Thank You for the people who blessed me here and for those who are a blessing all year long.
Thank You for renewing my heart for ministry.
Thank You for kindling my desire for Your kingdom, Your power, and Your glory.

Keep me from the temptations of this world, and continue to drive me into the light of Your glorious presence, O God. Protect me from the deception of my own heart and the schemes of the devil. Never allow me to forget the joy and the deep longings for You I experienced here. By Your Holy Spirit, allow me to pour into others the same power and grace You have poured into me.

O God, let my ways be intimately acquainted with Yours as You are with mine. My soul thirsts for You.

Thank You for all that happened here.

Learning and Loving; Serving and Seeking

It is hard to believe that I have not yet been in Indiana for even one week. The flight seemed like it was such a long time ago. This week has served as a reminder to me just how long CYIA really is. But I am also re-learning several things that I forget every year. Through the examples and fellowship of others, my heart has been encouraged and driven to prayer and worship.

So often in the monotony and the mundane I forget that God desires me to love Him with everything I am inside and all I hold on the outside. He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, so that I would live for Him forever. He desires my heart, not just the outside of my cup. When we as believers are surrounded by others who speak God's word to us and pray with us and encourage us in Christ and serve us, we grow closer to our Savior. As we seek the Lord in His word, we grow in the knowledge of our great Savior (2 Pet. 3:18).

The worst thing I can imagine for any life is a profession of faith and actions that deny it. I want my life to be totally abandoned to the work and service of Jesus Christ. My desire is to seek His will in everything and share His name with everyone. Wherever I am, I want to read His word and speak His truth into others' lives. Everywhere I go, I want to serve Him and others with all my heart -

because I love Him.

Two Weeks in Indiana

10:55 AM Indianapolis time

This week and next I have the opportunity to serve in Indiana at CYIA. On Saturday I flew from Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport to Indianapolis where I was picked up by a friend. This morning I will be travelling from Carmel, IN to Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion where the training will be held - pray for wisdom and guidance at this time as I will be serving many missionaries. Also, pray that God will be glorified in the time there.

Throughout my stay in Indiana I hope to write and send a few updates.

Albuquerque Pictures

Over Memorial Day weekend, I had the chance to take a trip with Megan and her family to Albuquerque. Enjoy some photos of the scenery:

This Catholic church in Old Town Albuquerque, 

San Felipe de Neri, is over 300 years old.

A view of Albuquerque from 10,000 feet high. We were 

transported by the world's longest off-ground tram.

Majesty

Turn the pages of the timeless masterpiece. The wind blows left and right until the right one slowly descends to reveal a college student - young and capricious: one life but hardly a sentence in the scope of the magnitude of existence. A line. A breath. A thought in the wind of God. One soul bound to the vessel of dust into which God has blown the breath of life.

There is, on this particular page, a walk through the neighborhood. This is a rare occurrence in the book. The grandeur is too marvelous to resist. Something is different about today. Or is there? The sky is cloudless - typical for a Phoenix early afternoon. The sun blasts its white hot rays onto everything beneath it. But the highlighted words - the flowers, the sky itself, the wind, the palm trees, the cacti - these are the difference.

Of course, they are there telling their story daily. The difference is in the man, for today he is listening. A strange metamorphosis has taken place, and the insensitive character early in the story has flown as dust in the wind and given way to a new man. The grass, the water, the hummingbirds, and the fragrance of it all. Majesty!

And if this is but one small scope of a minuscule sphere in one galaxy among billions, what must be in the heavens? What lies beyond Arizona? What lies abroad the universe to our small home? How the angels must stand and fall in wonder of the rotation of the radiant stars, the magnificent eclipses, the faithful seasons. And who is there to worship but the God behind it all?

We are but one breath. We live for a moment in the pages, then we fly away. We are gone. Most are not remembered, and even those who are have but a minimum impact. No one will remember your name in 200 years. No one will even know you existed.

No, it is not about us.

It is Him.


Psalm 8:3-5
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God,

And You crown him with glory and majesty!

Job 42:5
I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;

But now my eye sees You.