Food For Thought - Mere Mortals

I learned a C.S. Lewis quote at the Focus Institute that I haven't been able to shake. He once said, "You have never met a mere mortal."

I have been wrestling with this for quite some time (since being at FFI last spring) and some recent encounters have brought my internal struggle with this statement back to the forefront of my mind. Here are some previous thoughts that started this fight inside myself between holding onto my comfortable, selfish lifestyle and living with abandon and with an eternal perspective:

I've been humbled many times by this statement, yet I still fail to live like I believe it. What would my life look like if I looked at every person I saw as the eternal being that they are. How many times do I drive by the same shop, and maybe even patronize it, and never engage with the owner? The people that live next door; not mere mortals. How many times do I interact with these people and yet don't genuinely care about their story? Everyone has a story, but do I take the time to listen? Do I take the time to care? How much different would my life look if I saw people as more than mere mortals?

I want to be so involved in my world, but I lose the intentionality of that focus so easily. I'm realizing I'm losing focus because I'm failing to constantly gaze at the nature of God. Two characteristics of God that sting are his humility and his extreme involvement. He is the definition of humility. He humbles himself to the lowly and becomes involved in their very being.

A former professor of mine, Dr. Del Tackett, describes God's involvement very well (yet it's still only finite):
"He listens and he touches. He comforts and he disciplines. He dwells within us and he intercedes. He protects us, he guides us, he provides our every need. He is the vine and he gives us life. He has spoken to us in his word and he keeps us from temptations that we cannot bear. He is deeply involved. God is not apathetic. He does not abstain. He does not abdicate his responsibilities to fulfill his promises. He is faithful to the end. He is the Father to the fatherless. He defends the weak and the needy. He is righteous and he does what is right. He sends rain on the just and the unjust. You cannot accuse God of copping out. He doesn't bail. He doesn't flee. He never retreats and he never abandons the battle. He is deeply involved. He takes the evil king to task and he judges the wicked. He opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. He hears the cries of his people. He listens to them and he answers our prayers. His providential hand has been felt by those who have come before and by those who will come after us. He brings peace in the midst of trials. He opens the prison doors. He sets the captives free. He is present in the foxhole and he knows when a sparrow falls. He is the ever present, the ever near, the everlasting Father. He has not abandoned us and he will not forsake us. He IS INVOLVEMENT! If you want to follow Him, then you must engage in the battle!"

I know this is long, but it gives some food for thought. Let me know what you think

FFI - First Weekend

The first weekend at Focus Institute is crucial to setting the tone for the rest of the semester, both for the faculty and the students. I can tell you that something happens in the first few days at Focus and then the next 3 days on the "base-camp retreat" that is hard to describe. (It's called base-camp because climbing a mountain was the metaphor used for the journey of the semester and the retreat was the beginning/prep stage; hence, "base-camp").

85 college students and post-grads load up with 10 to 15 staff members and make a trek up to 9,000 feet and Horn Creek Retreat Center, for a life-changing retreat. The crazy thing is that the 85 Institute students are basically strangers, having only known each other for 3 days. But the mountains + God changes a lot of things.

During those three days we grew closer together than is humanly possible. Through all kinds of ice breakers, staff testimonies and challenges, seminars, and opportunities to chill with peers in the great outdoors or inside with a warm cup of hot chocolate we left a different kind of group. To be honest, as we left it felt like a True community of believers and one could share deeply from their hearts with many brand new friends. This type of vulnerability set the stage for the most incredible 3 1/2 months of growth in my entire life.

Here are some pictures of us tubing that first weekend at the base-camp retreat at Horn Creek.

New Year's Resolutions

I don't know how I feel about New Year's Resolutions. Sometimes I make one, sometimes I don't. I think they mainly just make people feel good about themselves for a couple months until life grabs them by the neck in March and they forget all about them.

Despite my often skeptical view of them, I made several this year. For now, I'll share one to whoever reads this thing. I want to read 20 books of my personal, leisurely choice (this excludes textbooks, work related material, etc.) in 2009. The reason I share this resolution is two fold. First, I will be placing them in my new column on the right titled "20 Books in 2009" as I read them, in hopes that I will be able to share something valuable from each of them to you. Second, it allows you to keep me accountable on this resolution (i.e. when July rolls around and I have 3 books on my list, you can write me and tell me to get my butt in gear).

I look forward to learning a lot from this resolution and hopefully sharing and challenging you all through it as well.

If you have any great books you'd think I'd enjoy, especially one's I could borrow from you, let me know. That would be swell.

FFI Series Preface

This video is a great overview of the program. It's a bit cheesy at the beginning and seems to be so brief for the depth it tries to convey, but it might help to show the intentionality and how awesome the program is.

It's interesting to watch this video after being there because I literally experienced the things that these students are talking about. What blew me away immediately upon arrival was that everyone knew my name and my story. It was incredible. At one point in the clip, the president, Dr. Del Tackett mentions that the "Institute defies description." I realize that is exactly what I am trying to do with this series, but figured I'd at least give it a shot. I think the video is a great way to start this series as it really sets the tone for what the Institute is all about. Enjoy.