Getting What You Don't Deserve: Lessons From 9 Square

   There is a game that is for all ages. If you can stand you can play. If you are not that athletic you can play. If you want to play a game where there are not really any winners or losers this is a game for you. It’s a game that was first introduced to me at Camp YoliJwa. It is the game of 9 Square.

   You may be wondering why I am telling you about a game right now, but stay with me on this. The game is set up with a group of pipes that make 9 squares. There is one person in each square. The person in the middle of the square is the king; and he gets to serve the ball. Once the ball is served if the ball comes into your square you have one hit to get it out and into another square. The game continues with each player getting one hit until a player hits a pipe, hits the ball two times, or the ball enters the players square and the player does not hit it out of the square (Find out more about 9 Square here).

   It is a great game because literally anyone can play it. I come from a very athletic and competitive family. But, I would have to say my mom is the least athletic and competitive (love you mommy ;). Anyhow, it turns out that sometimes the least athletic people reach the 9th square and become king. Now, being competitive I think that isn’t really fair. I mean, I work really hard to stay in the game but I get out. Then the least athletic people barely touch the ball and become king. But, that’s how the game works.

   One other reason I like this game is because it relates to life. The least athletic people who make it to the center, without touching the ball much, get what they do not deserve in my opinion. They get to be king even though they barely did anything. Has that ever happened to you in other situations in life? Where you work your butt off and do your best, but someone else gets what you wanted or thought you deserved. Yeah, I’ve been there and it’s not easy.

   However, there is someone else I know fairly well who did a lot of work in order to make sure I get what I don’t deserve. His name is Jesus Christ. He paid the price. In keeping with my blog, he got out in 9 Square so that I could survive. But, literally, he died on the cross to take away my sins. And, he did that for you too.

   Sometimes I think we forget the fire we used to have for Christ when we first accepted him. It continually amazes me that someone would be willing to die for me when I wasn’t even born yet. In a way he knew me. But I didn’t even exist when he did know me, if that makes sense. I think we need to look back and remember what Christ did for all of us. Then look at us now and let that knowledge impact how we treat others. And, finally, look forward to the future that we have with Christ.

   So, did you ever have a time where someone got something you thought you deserved? Have you ever thought about how you got something you did not deserve? Have you lost that fire you first had for God?

   Titus 3:5, 1 Peter 1:3, Psalm 73:25-26

Thanksgiving: Dare to Compare...

   So, it is that time of year again: Thanksgiving. A time where we go see family, watch football, and eat until we have to unbutton our pants. I am just joking about that last one :D kind of.

   Anyhow, around Thanksgiving what do we think about? I am betting that most of you said what we are thankful for. I do that as well; but it got me thinking about why we need to have one specific day to think about why we are thankful. That then led to me thinking about why we aren’t thankful for what we have most of the time.

   We could all blame different things for why we aren’t thankful: the American dream, we don’t have what we think we need, etc. But, I believe it all boils down to one thing: comparison. A while back I was driving home after night class and I saw a quote on a church sign. It said: “comparison is the thief of joy.” I got to thinking about that quote and I believe it is totally right.

   Think about it: when you were little and one of your friends got a really cool, new toy what did you automatically think. I’m betting you were thinking “I want that” or “my toy isn’t as cool as her new toy.” As humans, it is our automatic reaction to compare ourselves to others. We look at what possessions others have and want what they have. We watch commercials and see the latest thing that is so neat and we have to have it. We see the talents others have and we think “why don’t I have that?”

   I am guilty of this too and it is a difficult habit to break. In our culture people tell us we need to have this and we will be happy. People tell us we are not good enough. However, that is not what God says. He loves us and created us for a purpose. We all have our own unique gifts. Sometimes it is easy to forget that we are all different. There is no one like you, and there will never be anyone like you. We need to be thankful for the way God made us and grow in our relationship with Him. That means trusting Him to provide for our needs. He will give us whatever we need, if we trust Him.

   So, this Thanksgiving I encourage you to think about your life. Do you compare yourself to others too much? Are you comparing what you have to what others have?

   I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving. Remember to be thankful all year round.

   1 Timothy 6:6-8, Psalms 136:1-2, Hebrews 13:5

Not Getting What You Want, But Getting What You Need

   Sometimes what you want isn’t always what you need. I have had a lot of things that I have wanted in my life; but God has said no. And, sometimes he has actually given me what I didn’t really want. After having a conversation with a friend on my team a few weeks ago I realized that I may not have wanted to play soccer but I needed to play soccer.

   Honestly, in my four years playing soccer at Lancaster Bible College there were times I didn’t really want to play for one reason or another. But, through it all God has made a way for me to play. I didn’t really know why it was so important for me to play soccer, but looking back I can see that it happened for a reason. I may not have wanted to play soccer, but I needed to play soccer. Soccer has taught me so much. I have learned how to be patient, how to be cool under pressure, and how to show more emotion. Along the way I made a lot of amazing friends. The friends I made in soccer have helped me so much and I can never thank them enough.

   The next time you wonder why God isn’t giving you what you want, or he is giving you the opposite of what you want just be patient. He does have a plan no matter what it may seem. I am so glad I trusted God to come up with a plan for my life. Because, if I didn’t, I would have made so many wonderful friends and grown so much.

   So, do you trust God? Are you willing to follow his plan for your life?

   Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 4:19, Matthew 6:31-32

What to do When Waves Come Crashing In

   In the summer my family and I went to the beach for the first time in 8 years (other than when I went to Puerto Rico on a mission trip this past March, but I don’t count that because it wasn’t with my family). My sister was in the water. She was having problems because she kept falling when the waves crashed into her.

   When I realized she was having problems I told her she needs to know when to stand her ground and when to jump over the wave. If the wave is fast and high, she needs to jump. But, if the wave was smaller and slower she needs to stand her ground.

   My sister just could not tell which wave she needed to jump over and which one she needed to stand her ground. Many times she would fall because she jumped too high when she should not have jumped. Or, she would fall because she would stand her ground on a fast wave; and the wave would move the sand under her feet, so she would fall.

   I am telling you this story because it relates to life. We will inevitably all have trials and get tested. But, during those trials we need to know when to stand our ground and when to jump/move. If we choose to stand our ground it may be difficult because the sand moves beneath our feet. It would be really easy for us to jump and not stand our ground, but should we?

   In order to know when we should stand our ground and when we should move when trials come we need to know the Word (Bible). Everything we do needs to be based off the word. If what we are doing/saying goes against the word then we will fall. But if we know that someone is doing something against the word they will fall and we may fall too.

   To clarify let me give you an example: If I am at my job and my boss tells me that I need to lie about how much inventory we have in the store what should I do? I know that if I do not listen to my boss I may lose my job. But, if I lie then I am sinning. So, should I jump the wave and lie. Or, should I stand my ground and tell my boss that I cannot lie even though the wave that hits me may be big and knock me over.

   Finally, there is one option I did not mention in my little example. At the end of the day at the beach my sister got tired of getting knocked over so she left the waves. We do have one other option other than jumping and standing our ground. We can move. We can choose to leave the situation. But, we need to ask ourselves is that what God would want us to do?

   Especially in today’s society we need to be grounded in the Word (Bible). We need to know why we believe what we believe. We need to know when we should stand our ground. And, we need to know when we should leave the situation. In order to know what we should do, we need to have a relationship with God. It is only through his guidance that we will be able to endure the waves of life.

   So, have you ever jumped or sinned when you knew you should not have? Do you know the Bible well enough to know when to stand your ground? And, do you have a good enough relationship with God to know what he is guiding you to do?

   John 16:13, Galatians 5:1, 1 Corinthians 16:13, James 4:17

The Friendship Fast

   Ziad Abdelnour, a CEO and investment banker, once said: “You have three types of friends in life: Friends for a reason, friends for a season, and friends for a lifetime.” One area in life where I have always struggled is friends. I have issues making friends. When I do make friends, I try my best to keep them but most of the time I lose them for one reason or another. I never quite understood why until a series of events occurred this year.

   Around March I had a really crazy dream (link to dream blog here) that made me realize that I may have been idolizing something. That something was friendships. Every time I lost, or came close to losing, a friend I kept thinking about the friend. I wondered if something was wrong with me, or if I did something to offend that person. Friendships had become more important than my relationship with God.

   During the rest of my college semester I didn’t have much time for friends so I didn’t think about the dream. After school was over I knew I needed a break from everything so I took a step back and did not contact friends too much. That was when I began working on my relationship with God. I started to pray more, talk to him more, and learn more about him. So, inadvertently, my friendship fast had begun.

   After about three weeks I realized that I felt better about myself and more God-confident. I sent texts to friends on their birthdays and talked with them here and there, but talking with them was not my whole life. Then I went to Camp YoliJwa where the theme was friendship. During the week we talked about fasting and that was when I realized that I was kind of doing a friendship fast. That’s when I began to call it the friendship fast. But, even after talking about friendship for a whole week I didn’t quite feel that I was ready for friendships again.

   That was when I realized that I had different types of friends. I had some for a reason, for a season, and for a lifetime. Some of the friendships I have had were toxic relationships where either I was doing all the work, or the friend was not a good influence on me. Other friends came into my life to impact me for a short time and I am so thankful for the time I had with them. And, the friendship I have had for a lifetime is with Jesus. He was there for me even when I didn’t realize it, or didn’t want him to be there.

   This whole experience has taught me so much about who I am in Christ. For so long I have said things happened for a reason; but I wasn’t quite trusting God when it came to the relationships in my life. And, when a friend left me I did everything I could to get that friend back. Now I know that if a friend is only with me for a season it is for a reason. And, if those friends ever need help from me I will do my best to be there for them; because that is what God calls us to do (Matthew 22:36-40).  

   Please understand that during this friendship fast if a friend would text me or talk to me I would talk to them. But, I did not make talking to my friends my whole life like it used to be. And, if I needed to do something to help others I did it because God wants us to love him and others.

   There are many lessons I learned during this experience. First is that I have friends who I need to sharpen and they need to sharpen me (Proverbs 27:17). Next is I need to trust in God’s plan and timing. Third is there will be some friends I have that I need to build up and be an example for (in other words let Christ’s light shine through me). Ultimately this experience taught me that I need to lean on God. He will be my best friend for all eternity.

   So, are you idolizing something? Do you need to fast in order to come closer to God? Are you leaning too much on others and not enough on God? Is God your BFF (Best Friend Forever)?

   Exodus 20:3-6, Proverbs 18:24, John 15:13

   P.S. I know Matthew 6:16-18 says that you should not boast about your fasting. The point of this blog is not to say “look at me I fasted.” It is to state the lessons I learned during my time of fasting in hopes that others who read this may learn those lessons too.