1 Corinthians 9: 19-13 (The Message)
“Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized - whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ - but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!”

I was in Boston last night/ today and as I walked the streets I tried very hard to look into the faces of as many people as possible. (I hope no one caught me staring :)) It is such a culturally diverse city...it seemed like every person we passed by was from a different ethnic background...every person we stopped to ask for directions (which, for those of you who know me, happened on more then one occasion) had a different accent. As I walked around the city I was just blown away with how many people from all over the world there are to reach in just one place...how many different opportunities we pass up on a daily bases to connect with someone because we don’t have a way to connect.
The more “languages” we can speak, the greater platform of influence we have. The more cultures I understand, the more I can speak to the heart of those who seemingly have nothing “in common” with me. I believe that every person we encounter, we should be able to find something to connect with them on. As I walked around the city yesterday I just had an increasing desire to start to dig into the lives of those around me and figure out what makes them who they are... I want to know where they are coming from and hopefully be able to learn their “language” and speak God’s message to their heart in a way they can understand.
There is this awesome group that just started up here in Rhode Island called Prodigy (check out the website for more info: www.prodigyspace.blogspot.com) and the first week we talked about “touch points.” Touch Points are things we experience that help us to connect with other people...I think it would be really neat to create touch points by getting to know committed followers of other religions...maybe that would help me understand what they believe, why they believe it, and give me more ways to know how to show them the truth?

Aiden with a bucket full of crab shells :) 

lessons from a child...

I went for a walk on the beach yesterday with my 7 year-old cousin, Aiden. Aiden has a facination with insects, flowers, and fish. We walked along the beach and filled up his bucket with crab shells. Every time he came across a new crab he would get so excited, bend down, examine every detail of it and then explain to me why it was so "beautiful." He showed me how some had orange spots, some had purple spots, some had reddish shells, some had brown. When I asked him why he loved crabs so much he said (with great excitement and animation) "because they are so cool...they are all different shapes, sizes, and colors. that's so cool."
As we walked along the beach and I watched him pick up 30 or 40 crab shells, never losing any excitement or getting bored, I thought to myself...this is how my heart needs to be for people. So often we walk into stores, down the street, even in our neighborhood and we pass hundreds...thousands of people and we never take the time to stop and examine them. I have been to the beach more times then I can count and I have never noticed that some crabs have purple spots and some have orange, red, or green spots. When Aiden pointed this out to me it truly was a "beautiful moment". How many people do I come in contact with daily that I do not notice their beauty? I have often asked myself the question about certain people, "why are they in my life?" and I can hear God saying..."because they are so cool...they are all different shapes, sizes, and colors. that's so cool."
When we got back to our blankets and chairs, Aiden excitedly rounded the other kids together and dumped out his "treasure"...expecting the kids to think it was as amazing as he did. Most of the other kids said, "eww" and one of the girls was afraid of getting stung...so one by one they abandoned the pile of crab shells to go play in the water. Again, this just made me think how God just dumps out his "treasure"...his children in front of me and often I look at them as a "mass" a "pile" instead of looking at each and every individual person. Often my actions act more like I am thinking, "eww...what is so beautiful about that?" or I stay away not wanting to get "stung" but I want to see God's creation...His people through His eyes...seeing the unique beauty he has placed within each and every soul.

Explorer or Adventurer?

I was sitting with a group of people the other day discussing the difference between an explorer and an adventurer. I have been tossing this idea around in my head all week so here are my thoughts...
My mind paused when I first heard the question, “what is the difference between an adventurer and an explorer?” Those two words have always been interchangeable for me. I have always wanted to be an “adventurous” person...someone willing to step out into the unknown....someone willing to explore areas that have never been explored before. However, as our conversation developed, I realized that there is definitely a difference between an “explorer” and an “adventurer.”
One of the main differences we discussed was the purpose. The purpose of an adventurer is to experience something exciting, daring, challenging. The purpose of an explorer is to discover, learn, obtain. It seems to me like the adventurer lives for the moment...creating experiences in order to have a new thrill. The purpose of an explorer is to discover something new, someone who loves to learn. I think of an explorer as someone who experiences life and an adventurer as someone who creates experiences. An explorer seems to live their life greatly enjoying the journey that leads to a destination they are passionate about getting to and an adventurer seems to be jumping from one destination to the other. Those who explore life, naturally encounter adventure, risk, danger, excitement, and thrill—but they do not live for it. The focus of one only brings fulfillment to self, the focus of the other shares that fulfillment with those they come in contact with.
I want to be an explorer. I want to spend my life discovering, learning, and creating new trails...hopefully making it a little easier for people to follow...so that I can more powerfully share Christ’s love with this world. I want to experience adventure, risk, and danger...but not for the purpose of a thrill...I want to experience those things so that I can have more tools and more opportunities to share the message of God’s unfailing love with people.
I think it is easy to get bored when you are living for adventure. You constantly have to move from one exciting moment to the next, seeking something new for you to experience. When you are exploring life...you enjoy every moment that God allows you to experience. Every thing you do, whether extremely risky and exciting or just every day mundane activities, you see as a clue to this journey you are on that you can share with other people...to help make their journey a little easier.
When your focus is on your self, people just become something that contributes to your next adventure. They are something you use to excite and entertain you, eventually you grow bored with them and move on to your next “exciting adventure.” However, when your focus is on God and sharing His love with His children, people become something that helps you discover more and more of God’s love, they become part of the purpose of your journey.
The most amazing thing to me is this—when we truly live out life in this way, seeking to explore life and share God’s love...he will weave the most amazing adventures into our journey...so we can discover even more about His infinite love.