At the most basic understanding of God, we include him into the conversation of how in the heck we all got here. That's a great conversation to have, no matter what side of the conversation you fall on. However, I would like to offer my 2 cents on the naivety of the "open minded" side of this debate. As humans, if we are told something absurd for long enough, whether we experience its truth or not does not diminish the possibility of believing the absurdity. But then again, this is what they say about Christians, and for some, they are probably spot on. But without getting into that, there are a few aspects of the human process that have me baffled... 

1. The menstrual cycle. This is absolutely bananas that a woman's body is this consistent to try and facilitate one thing: child bearing. 
2. Throwing up. 
3. Yawning. Why do we even yawn?
4. The human brain. I mean, the retention of memory alone is wild.
5. Blood clots. 

That last one really has me thinking. How could a the human body know without being told that there is a wound and its energy must then go to that acute area and begin healing it. 
Look at the picture below and think about how an accidental existence puts all of these pieces together, and why in the world are you so afraid of attributing God w/ the creation of all things?

A culmination of our circumstances, income, pride, greed, laziness, insecurities, etc can send us into moments of feeling deflated.
As someone who is currently living in a moment of deflation, I encourage you to holdfast hope that God is good and although He does not promise an easy life, He does promise the good life!

The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. 
Colossians 1:27-28 [MSG]

Disclaimer: My wife has approved this message

Why do we run after the things that make us feel like we aren't worthy, pretty, crafty, handsome, successful, etc? 

My wife is amazing. Even at eight months pregnant I have to fight her to let me do things around the house. Her reasoning is this, "I don't work, so my job is to take care of my house and my family." [I know, I know... she IS amazing!] One struggle that my wife has faced is her addiction to Pinterest. She has pinned literally thousands of recipes, workouts, fashion trends, baby ideas and DIY tips. Oh man, I almost forgot all of the wedding ideas she 'pinned' before we got married. Her addiction was so extreme that I had to tell her [in my super deep man voice] that I don't care what is happening on Pinterest, and between the two of us we were creative enough to have a bad-ass wedding with or without the advice of bloggers and pinners. 
I lost that fight.... and thanks to our very dear family and friends along w/ the inspiration from creative folks all over the world, our wedding was pretty bad-ass!

I see something in the Pinterest culture that I find inside and outside of the church... and it's the "I want people to think I am ____________________" - fill in the blank in your own life. You do not have to compare yourself to anyone IF you can believe, accept and continually pursue an understanding of the details that you were created on purpose to be the truest version of the only you that will ever exist! 

My wife finds some level of her satisfaction in being "super mom/wife" from being able to replicate the images of those "perfect" people who "have it all together" and are "very creative"**. - This is the same mentality that happens in the CHURCH. Christians look at pastors, authors, speakers, bloggers, as people who "have it all together" and it leaves us normal people feeling like there is this upper echelon of Christianity that we will always have to be pretending we are a part of... 

There is no Super Christian Club... We are all created, equipped and called to something... Find your something and do something about it!!


**I received permission from my wife to write these things

 

This video does an incredible job of articulating something that we all know is true, but don't want to admit. 

P.s. I first saw this on Brent Thomas' blog and am in some sense "reposting" it. You can also find Brent on Twitter

This picture breaks my heart...
Literally. 
The amount of desperation that people bear while walking through the doors of church is wild.  With hope to find grace and freedom from whatever circumstance they may be at that time many enter church willing and ready to give anything they have in exchange for what they came seeking. 
There are men and women who have raped the scriptures of their intention and purpose in the name of "financial prosperity". 

There are no secrets to winning the lottery, making millions or finding "true" happiness. And trying to rewrite "The Secret" in the name of Jesus is ridiculous, anti the Good News and blasphemous by all accounts. The secret to a life of joy, spiritual hope and abundance as only found in the mysteries of how gracious Jesus Christ truly is. A faithful following of Jesus, intimacy with Holy Spirit and learning God's holy word will provide light to your path because there aren't secrets, just mystery. 

The other night at work [Pita Jungle] I was chatting with a dude who's ten years younger than me, and we were sharing different pieces of our story with one another. He grew up in Alabama, where the churches are as prevalent as beards on Duck Dynasty and shared with me that he was on a little bit of a journey in trying to figure out who he wants to become and how his belief in God plays into that process. I told him this, "Wherever you place your trust is who you'll become".
What do you think?

In the Gospels [Matthew, Mark, Luke & John] the Tempe is often referred to as the "Holy Place", the place where the spiritual inhabits the physical. Even Jesus called the Temple "My Father's house", yet He also refers to himself as "the Temple". 
The real-estate of God incarnate. 
The spiritual made tangible. 
This leads me to believe that refuge is not necessarily something that happens in our [church] buildings. Instead, refuge takes place when the heart of man and the mystery of the spiritual collide, allowing, for just a moment, that heaven be visible on earth. It is also interesting that Paul refers to our bodies as a "temple of the Holy Spirit", and in a moment of vulnerable conversation between Jesus and his friend Philip, Jesus tells him, "“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." What Philip didn't know is that Jesus going to be with the Father meant that Holy Spirit was going to take over as the mouth-piece of heaven on earth, and the power for which we are able to do such great things... 
Implications-
As men and women who have been granted access into the mystery of the spiritually eternal and are filled with Holy Spirit we must remember and declare that we are equipped, gifted, filled, called & empowered to provide refuge to a hurting, self-depreciating humanity that is constantly searching for truth, love, and hope that grace is real. We are the temporary refuge for the people in our life, and we are responsible to gracefully walk them into an introduction with the eternal refuge, Jesus Christ. 

"When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. “What a huge harvest!” he said to his disciples. “How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!” - Matthew 9:36-38

We all have a story to tell. 
Secrets that have never seen the light of day. 
Bondage that begs for freedom.

If you feel alone in your story, or heavy burdened by your secrets and you need to tell someone... You're welcome to tell me. If you don't want to reveal who you are, create an anonymous email address and pursue freedom by taking a step of faith and vulnerability. 

#behonestordie
Send emails to: [email protected]

Amidst all of our theological, denominational & social differences, 
it is so necessary that we remain unified on this one truth, that the 
"good news" always has been and always will be solely Jesus.