In Case of Painful and Embarrassing Face-Plant

I was walking into the Palace theater with some friends awhile back and in an attempt to kick a small rubber bouncy ball that was on the ground I slipped and landed on my backside. It was quite embarrassing.  The girls in the group laughed as I lay on the ground in pain. They continued on into the theater to watch the movie while I remained on the ground. I stayed on the ground for several days until I just gave up and died.

Tragic story right? Well as you could have guessed, its not true. Well, its partially true. I did fall on my butt trying to kick a bouncy ball and my friends laughed at me and some of them would still remind me of it today. However, I pretty quickly got up and tried to shrug it off. It is a pretty absurd thought that one would simply never get up again. 

What am I getting at? If you haven't guessed this verse should help. 

Proverbs 24:16 

For the Righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

Here we see the difference between the righteous and wicked man. The difference is simply the will to get back up on our feet again. 

What if the scenario were different? What if it wasn't your fault that you fell? What if my friends actually pushed me to the ground? The answer in both cases is the same, I would still get back up again. I think that falling includes calamity brought on by outside forces we cannot control as well as our own mistakes. 

How do we get up then? What does it mean to get up? I think the answer is forgiveness. When someone else hurts us we forgive them and don't allow that bitterness to grow inside us. When we fail, stumble, or fall, we must forgive ourselves. This is the hardest thing for us to do but it is so essential. How can we not forgive ourselves when the God of the universe came down and died for us on the cross to forgive us? Honestly, it is insulting to that sacrifice when we hold onto our failure! If God forgives others we should forgive them, and if he forgives us we should also forgive ourselves. 

This includes our conversations with God. I often times find myself saying sorry over and over again to him and I can just imagine him sitting their trying to tell me how ridiculous I sound. For I am not defined but my failure but by his victory. He doesn't want to talk about that junk, he wants me to enjoy his presence.

So next time you face plant into the pavement, take a moment to dwell on the great promises of the Lord, lift yourself up off the ground, and continue the race set before you. 

Happy New Year everybody!

Merry Christmas to a Broken World

What makes Christmas so wonderful? Obviously this question is answered differently for many people. For some it is the time spent with friends and family that they love dearly. Others find joy in the simple things such as a a warm fire and hot chocolate. Kids can't wait to unwrap those gifts that have been taunting them ever since they were placed under the tree. Parents live for the expression of joy on their kids faces as they unwrap them.

But for every wonderful experience comes a tragic one. Perhaps Christmas reminds us of our broken family, loneliness, or poor circumstances. I feel that this is the reality for most and no matter how hard I try or how much I write, I cannot wrap my mind around it. There are so many lost and hungry, so many souls that are weary and just need a place to rest, so many families broken beyond repair, so many people just looking for a friend, so many in pain, so many abused, so many guilty, so many imprisoned; so many that have lost all hope. 

Christmas was marked by the birth of a God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, through a frightened teenage girl. Only when we examine Jesus's life can we understand how all of this makes sense. 

Matthew 2:17- On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Yes Christmas is about God's gift of Christ to earth but we overlook one crucial detail, the receiver. You see, the gift is as much about the receiver as it is the giver and the gift itself. The receiver in this story is earth. My friends, Christ is a gift to the lost, the hungry, the weary, the broken, the lonely, those in pain, the abused, the sinners, the imprisoned; those without hope, A.K.A. us! 

Christmas is about these hurting people that Christ came for. Christmas is a turning point in the most profound love story in all history. This story involves all of us. We are the couriers of the gift of God which is love! I encourage everyone not to bare the burden of the world with depression and sadness but with Joy KNOWING that God is working to prepare the world for his kingdom.  Therefore let us minister to the needs of those around us. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas no matter what their circumstances because the Joy of the gift of God is available freely for all!

Perserverance

James 1:12- Blessed is the man who preservers under trial. Because he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.

My legs jump at the sound of the gun; I have never been more ready in my entire life for this race. The thunder of feet seems unreal yet is spurs some fire in me that gives me haste and fear. Everything is now. I have prepared for this race for months, with hundreds, perhaps even thousands of miles behind me. There are hundreds of other runners around me with the same fears, pains, and goals creating an aura of adrenaline.

It is only a few hundred meters into the race as our mass funnels into the narrow turn. Elbows go up and someones spike lands into my heel. As I round the turn, my coach sees me and calls out, his voice seems so distinct among the roar of the crowd. "Good pace Stephen, lock in and go!" His words drive me on for the next half mile.

Pain. It seems to be screaming from every nerve ending. Exhaustion. I am breathing heavily, trying to maintain my composure. Despair. I cannot do this, I cannot win, I will surely die. Oh Lord I am only a mile into this race and I am sure I cannot make it to the end.

But I know somewhere deep inside that that is just not true. I remember where I came from, how hard I have worked. Giving up is not an option now; this is the race of my life and I cannot let my team down. Each step I take is more pain, every breath I take is harder to swallow, and I know that it is only going to become worse. Yet this is not new to me. I have overcome before haven't I? What about when coach had us run hills till someone puked? What about those long runs where I knew from the beginning I could not make it another ten miles but I did with the encouragement form my team not letting me fall back? The difference now, I am alone.

At the two mile mark I hear my time 10:40. To my great surprise I am on pace for my personal record. I hear my coach again,"Your doing great but now you gotta go! Game time is over, you have to pick up the pace and catch their fifth man!"And there he is, the fifth man for Belvedere North just 20 meters or so ahead of me. A new energy fills me, a second wind. I feel my body switching gears as I dig deep for more strength, I have found it! I lock eyes on my target and push forward into the last mile, the pain beginning to numb.

I caught him. The adrenaline is now back and I swing wide around a pack of about 5 runners to pass him as we turn into the final quarter mile straightaway. But just as I begin to pass him he sees me and he does what I have been dreading he would do; he sprints. I watch in despair as he pulls away leaving a increasing gap between us. My body screams, the adrenaline is gone, my legs are engulfed in a burning fire. I am alone. I can't win, I know it.

But something inside me won't give. No, I did not come all this way to wave a whit flag in surrender to my enemies. I did not go through every trial so that I could give up now.

In that moment I did something illogical. I sprinted too.

Pain. More pain than I have ever remembered feeling. I look up and my opponent is only a few meters ahead. The gap begins to close. I am crying, blood drips from my spiked ankle, breakfast sits heavy in my stomach, but I am gaining! I am passing him! The line is just ahead and time seems to slow down. Every step is forced until at last we cross the line and I am victorious.

As I stumble to the end of the shoot, my coach greets me with a gatorade and a warm hug. "Well done my good and faithful servant."

1 Corinthians 9:18- Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to other, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

I got the joy

Today I am inspired to expound upon the wonderful qualities of joy. It is far more powerful and fulfilling than any form of happiness we can achieve but when the two are coupled together things are brighter than ever. You see, the Lord provides his servants with joy. This is a promise. However, the promise is often misconstrued to fit what society tells us joy is. Joy becomes the number of friends we have, the relationship with our girlfriend or spouse, our financial security, our success, or even our spiritual growth. All of these things are wonderful but God tells us that the joy we experience as his followers is much more deep and complex than that. “For the joy of the Lord is my strength!” The apostles praised God with joy at their persecution. Paul praised the Lord for his “thorn” after being told that the Lord would not take it from him. Nothing about these stories implies that joy includes a smile and a pat on the back. No, joy is consistent in the good and the bad.

      Joy? During finals week? Sounds a bit absurd I know, especially since I am only an hour away from my first final of the day. My point to this is that I am still filled with the joy of the Lord. The joy I have in this moment is in no way dependent on me. If it were then I would be one sad kid. God is constant. No matter what I can count on him to be who he is. He is love, sacrifice, justice, mercy, grace, and power! He is so wonderful and he alone contains the key to my salvation. By keeping my eyes on what is eternal there is no way I can lose that joy. For my eternal future is only bright!

      I love the Newsboys version of “Turn your eyes upon Jesus”. The chorus goes like this, “and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace!” That is so powerful to me! It is indeed the epitome of God given joy. No matter what happens. Death nor life nor angels nor powers, present things nor things of the future, height nor depth, nor any created thing, can ever separate me from his strong love! That is a consistent joy in all scenarios. That is the same joy that Paul felt in the midst of a horrible “thorn in his side”. The same joy Peter and Paul proclaimed after being flogged for preaching the gospel. For the Joy of the Lord is eternal and cannot be shaken. When you finally see its light, the things of this earth will indeed go strangely dim!

Remember, no matter what attacks you, the joy of the Lord is the same. As a Christian one of our greatest privileges is the joy we have knowing God will win and indeed that he already has. Our joy is the solid rock whereas the pleasures of this world are the sinking sand. Stand on that rock which cannot be shaken!

Psalm 16:8 – I have set the Lord before me always, because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken!

      

Relationships

What you are about read sounds depressing. However, I like to think of it as a brutal reality check for infatuation and broken hearts. It holds significance in my own life in the past. It is the reason I am able to push through relational disappointment before the sun goes down. (envision a drill sergeant telling you this)

She can like whoever she wants,
She doesn't like you (me).
She could invite anyone she wants,
She didn't invite you (me).
She can say anything she wants,
She didn't say what you (I) wanted.

I have no rights. I deserve nothing. I have no privileges.

Its called telling it how it is straight up and saying "so what?" I will tell it how it is!

I am not ready for a relationship. When the time comes I will be glad I did not give my heart away to anyone else.

I dont have a reason to shed tears or feel sorry for myself. Life isn't fair and I am glad. If it was then I would have no eternal salvation or relationship with my God. So in these times where I feel injustice I need to think about the grace and mercy I receive and understand that I don't just pick and choose who I want to have a relationship with. Im not the best thing since sliced bread. There are probably plenty of people who don't like me and as my dad would say "you can pick up your toys and like it or you can pick up your toys and cry about it." So I can live pouting about my imperfection or I can live with joy.

And so this is my joyous lament; one that states the truth, holds no grudge, claims no rights, and sheds not tears. It is not depression or disappointment. It is enlightenment. It is a newfound humility that leads me on the paths towards wisdom described as more precious than rubies. It results in a stronger bond with my God in heaven.

So I will wait for that woman. I pray everyday that he will send the right one along and I trust he will. In the mean time, I must press on towards the prize, making God my irreplaceable center.

My response?
moving on!

Wake Up Call

      I fell out of my bed this morning at around 3:30 and smashed my face pretty good in the carpet. My nose may be broken and I may have a concussion. Needless to say, I didn’t have too much trouble waking up after that. So with these things still very fresh in my mind I thought it would be very appropriate to write about wake up calls.

      Is it weird that the first thing I thought of when I hit my face is how good of a story this would make? I actually wasn’t even angry or anything. All I could think about is, I hope it looks really gruesome or even “this is exciting”. I feel that this can somehow apply to real life. It takes wake up calls that make us feel alive again, without them we can find ourselves coasting along. I was coasting pretty steady, but now that I have just smashed my face I realize that I wasn’t truly living before. We can’t just coast through life! The funny thing is that I prayed to God yesterday along with my brother, Nathan Ghantous, to give me suffering so that I could prove I stand by him even when times are hard and so that I can share in Christ’s suffering. Im not sure what this literal rude awakening is going to lead to but I somehow feel like there is a reason it did. Strange I know, maybe I just hit my head too hard and can’t think straight.

      Whatever the case, the application is real. Wake up calls get us up on our feet. I convince myself I need 8 hours of sleep to go through my day, this is clearly proven wrong seeing as I am more awake than I have been in awhile and I have only had three. The same goes for wake up calls in life. We tend to take control for ourselves and build up padded walls to keep us comfortable but honestly, life wasn’t meant to be comfortable. As Americans, we suck on pacifiers and ask for people to change our diapers for us thinking that the more things go our way, the better our life is. This just isn’t true though, we have to take risks both physically and relationally. We have to repeatedly step out of our comfort zone. Living life isn’t being content with a C but going for A because you can. Living life is serving someone else because you care, sacrificing for one you love, facing your biggest fears, setting big goals, laughing when the gun is in your face, crying when something is sad, shouting when something excites you, sitting silently when the world screams, jumping higher when someone says jump high, and loving harder when someone says they don’t love you back. And the best thing is that all of these are possible in Christ. Look at his life, he was king but he made himself nothing, we were unworthy but he took our sin and punishment on himself, he was pure but he ate with sinners, he was threatened but he continued to speak, he was God yet he took time to be quiet and reenergize, he washed the feet of his followers, he embraced children, walked on water, fed thousands, and was murdered only to rise again.

      With all this in mind I want to encourage the reader to live not just get by. Life is too short to get by and Christ has a plan that we would not believe if he told us. The fulfillment of that plan leads to a life so full with his blessings it is hard to imagine. Live today, don’t wait to fall out of bed and hit your head. 

Tis the season

      I have decided that one of the biggest joys of college is spontaneity; you know, like deciding to raid taco bell at midnight, jump in Lime Lake at 2:00 in the morning, or improve-act to the inception soundtrack. That spontaneous spirit was particularly strong during our first snowfall. My friends and I went out to enjoy it on Tuesday night. 

Not long after the snow began to fall, word had spread around campus like the French underground of a giant snowball fight on the plaza. Yes, not just any snowball fight but a GIANT snowball fight. Of course, this received priority over any homework. Fifty to one hundred peopled showed up to the snowball fight planned in only an hour or so. The chaos that ensued went from 11:00 to 1:00 in the morning! Needless to say, there was quite a bit of snow being stuffed in faces. In college, it is much different because everybody expects to get hurt. Like at the giant slippin slide earlier in the year, people broke bones diving off the hill while trying to do handstands or flips. With everyone expecting inevitable pain, the fun grows exponentially. The same went for the snowball fight. In fact, some people came out in just a shirt or even a t-shirt. 

Hudson in a T-Shirt

We also made an awesome snowman that sat on the bench by the basketball courts. Unfortunately someone had the nerve to body snatch him for their own snowman! Despite his short life, he lives on in memory! The best part about life right now is that I have people I love at home and at school making each day something to look forward to.

      

     Good times like this mark the wonderful Christmas season, one that I am convinced is an outpouring of God’s blessing. Its a time of unusual happiness and hope. I can just see Jesus grinning from ear to ear at the sight of it! I know it sounds cheesy but I feel this verse says it better.

1 Timothy 6:17

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

 So, do not live in arrogance but in Joy during this Christmas season!