For Samford

Thank you for providing the means for me to meet the people who have so greatly impacted my life and my identity. Thank you for letting me stay for a while and learn more about the World and the Kingdom and where I fit into all of it. Thank you for providing me with the people I care about most and the best community, far better than anything I could have dreamed of. You will always have a special place in my heart as the setting for the year my life drastically transformed and will now never look the same. Thank you Samford. I will miss you but do not worry, I will be back to visit, too much of my heart lies with you in Birmingham! 

Secluded Island                                                                         

By Mackenzie Kross  

Standing on the shore, soaking in the vast ocean,

Wanting to swim, wanting to fly, needing a boat

I look to my right and I am not alone.

Sitting on the shore, soaking in the vast ocean

Sharing the desire to swim, discussing what it would be like to fly,

I look to my right and we are not alone.

Gathering on the shore, soaking in the vast ocean

Called to swim, lifted up in order to fly,

Community. Fellowship. Simply being.

Diving in, cold piercing my skin, waves crashing around

The sea is too strong; I am unable to conquer it.

The soft reminders in the form of whispered prayers

Give me the spirit to persevere.

The vastness of the ocean seems bleak.

But I know I am never alone.

My savior took on many forms

He is my safety boat, ever beside me, giving me his strength

The island prepared me for this journey.

It allowed for souls to mingle in the presence of His spirit.

In the form of laughter, conversation and adventure

Christ equipped me.

When leaving seems wrong, they remind me that it’s right.

When the waves get too high, their prayers provide a raft.

When sharks and beast encircle

When light is hidden in the darkness

Their spirits revive me. Their love reminds me:

The love of a savior,

Beaten, bloodied, displayed and shamed

For me He died, for Him I live.

The faces that surround me,

The voices that calm me,

The hearts that love me,

The souls who know me.

 What will come of this journey?

I am but a mist following my Creator.  

A captive, set free therefore, I must fly.

The island is good,

Yet I must depart.

A glimpse of heaven,

Joy through fellowship.

As I face the unknown of the bitter raging waters,

I glance back at the lighthouse

A ray of friendship, pure and simple

Brightening the path before me.

This ray, so sweet, so intimate, so divine!

Sent to me by my Father, a precious treasure in this fallen world.

On the island, I found many members of Christ’s body.

Now I must swim.

With a heavy heart, but an obedient spirit,

I tread towards the goal set before me

Knowing one day to enter into eternal glory!  

Uncovering the heart

"Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you."
 Matthew 5:42

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:19-21

These verses work together in a very beautiful sequence. You must be set free from earthy treasure to truly be free to give what you do have away. These are truths that often go unread, un preached, and un practiced. God's heart is with the people. Where is your heart?

A beautiful Paradox

"Make me a captive, Lord,
     And then I shall be free;
Force me to render up my sword,
     And I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life's alarms when by myself I stand;
     Imprison me within Thine arms,
And strong shall be my hand."
-George Matheson

Luminaries

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven." Matthew 5: 14-16 (ESV)

Often times in scripture Christ is described as "The Light of the world" ( John 8:12). However, in Matthew 5 God's people are referred to as "the light of the world." I had never really understood the significance of this until the other night at an Advent service I attended. As we all went up to receive communion we took with us small white candles that we lit by placing the wick into a larger candle. With Christ as the larger candle, through Him, His people are also able to be lit, on fire, for him. How beautiful this picture is.

The darkness in the world can grow overwhelming, and often, even when looking at the church, it can be difficult to see light. However, the true light will always illuminate from the true source that is Jesus Christ. With Him, darkness will not overcome, it may overwhelm, but it will never truly reign. With Christ, there is always hope, there is always love, and there is always light. Let us be reminded of this now, as we celebrate the first coming of our King, and long for His triumphant return. Let us place our light on a stand so that it too may shine for all to see so that our King will receive glory. Praise to Jesus, who was and is and is to come! Hallelujah!

Daily Bread

As I contemplate the concept of simplicity in the Christian walk and what that is supposed to look like for me I had a thought. Simplicity, affecting all areas of life, affects food and what you eat. I have always been one to stuff my face and to eat all the junk food within my reach. Of course, I still love food that tastes good but I think that there is more to food than that. I think it is where fasting comes into play in the Christian journey. Through fasting you are allowed an opportunity to focus solely on God and give up desires, even the desire to eat. You can freely trust God and know that you will eat again and that you will live through the hunger but only God can truly satisfy you. I had never thought about the fact that food really can become an idol. Our need of food and our desire for food are very different.
Need- to require something because it is essential or very important.
Desire- a strong feeling of wanting to have something.
I have recently been convicted of the idea of eating food as I need it and eating food as I want it. Though I don't think it is bad to enjoy good food and fellowship through that time with others and of course I am not suggesting an unhealthy lifestyle in anyway but actually choosing to live a healthy lifestyle. I  have personally realized that eating to me has become so important that it has been placed over my relationship with my Savior and if He is to be in control of my life that includes everything in my life...even the food I eat.

Shalom

Freedom of Simplicity: Finding Harmony in a Complex World
Richard J. Foster 


"The vision for wholeness and peace, which shines like a beacon of light through the Old Covenant, gives us important insights into Christian simplicity. This theme is wonderfully gathered up in the Hebrew word shalom, a full-bodied concept that resonated with wholeness, unity, balance. Gathering in (but much broader than) peace, it means a harmonious, caring community with God at its center as the prime sustainer and most glorious inhabitant. This great vision of shalom begins and ends our Bible. In the creation narrative, God brought order out of chaos; in the Apocalypse of John, we have glorious wholeness of a new heaven and a new earth. The messianic child to be born is to be the Prince of Peace. Justice and righteousness and peace are to characterize his unending kingdom. Central to the dream of shalom is the wonderful vision of all nations streaming to the mountain of the temple of God to be taught his ways and to walk in his paths; to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Shalom even carries the idea of harmonious unity in the natural order: the cow and the bear become friends, the lion and the lamb lie down together, and a little child leads them. We are in harmony with God-faithfulness and loyalty prevail. We are in harmony with our neighbor- justice and mercy abound. We are in harmony with nature- peace and unity reign. 


Economically and socially, the vision of shalom is captured in what Bishop John Taylor calls "the theology of enough." The greed of the rich is tempered by the need of the poor. Justice, harmony, equilibrium prevail. Shalom's theology means "a dancing kind of inter-relationship, seeking something more free than equality, more generous than equity, the ever-shifting equipoise of a life- system." Excessive extravagance, vaunting ambition, ravaging greed- all are foreign to the complete, contented community of shalom. Under the reign of God's shalom the poor are no longer oppressed, because covetousness no longer rules." 


שָׁלוֹם(Shalom)

Note to self: Go to Coffee Shops more!

           There are some things in life that I strongly feel I will never grow tired of. Today one of those things is, coffee shops. Of course, not the kind of coffee shops that you walk into, get a cup of coffee and then walk out, or the kind that you sit at and read for a little while. I am talking about the true coffee shops, the ones that warm my soul down to the very core. I am talking about the kinds of coffee shops that as soon as you walk into the door you know that you will be there for multiple hours and you will feel more at home then you have in a very long time. At this point in my life I tend to be on a coffee shop ‘hunt.’ You could say that I have become quite the critic of coffee shops. This is because I have been to the best coffee shop (Bongo Billy’s Café-Buena Vista, Colorado) and when you have had the best it immediately makes you into a snob. Therefore, I have a few things that a coffee shop must attain in order to truly be a “good” coffee shop:

1)   Good coffee- no duh! But not just good coffee but coffee that tastes not too fancy, coffee that is fresh and pure. No fake snooty coffee please.

2)   Good space- a coffee shop cannot be too big, nor can it be small. You must be able to feel that while you are in a coffee shop with lots of other people you are still isolated all at the same time but still not too isolated.

3)   Good color selection for the paint on the wall- this may seem silly but the color of the room truly affects your mood when in a coffee shop. Normally light browns and deep reds or oranges are good. You must think fall.

4)   Good seating options- it is great if there is an outside area so that you always have that option, a variety of sizes of tables that can be used for a variety of reasons, and a lounge area and/or booths are always a good addition.

5)   Good music- this is very important! If I feel that I need my i-pod in at a coffee shop it is either because the music is terrible or I don’t want to talk to people. But if a coffee shop has a good mellow selection of music that is perfect for the background of my mind I will be far more productive at whatever I wish to achieve.

6)   Friendly workers- You know that it is a good place when the workers aren’t wearing corporate uniforms but are able to choose what they wear and, when you feel comfortable enough to ask what they recommend for you to order and it becomes a nice conversation.

7)   Vintage-like signs/decorations- this is pretty self-explanatory no froo froo flowers or lame posters hanging on the walls please.

8)   BONUS: ‘to go’ cups vs. ‘for here’ cups- It is always a special place when they have the option of a real mug to drink out of when you choose to stay a while. Makes it more like home.

Coffee shops are magical places. Great things happen there. I get studying done, I get solid reading time, I can blog, I can write whatever I want, I can think, and I can have some nice alone time. All wonderful things that need to happen in order for the world to remain the beautiful place that I often forget that it is.