Today, I saw an advertisement for a book entitled "I Can't See God...Because I'm in the Way: Getting Beyond Self-Centered Religion to a Passionate Faith". It let me read the first chapter, and though the writers (Bruce Bickel & Stan Jantz) weren't the best and the wording wasn't always that great, the concepts presented seemed very interesting and grabbed my attention. I was curious if anyone has read this book or knows someone that has read it. If you have read it, what are your thoughts on the book?

In the young adult class at my church, we recently discussed the idea of "bearing fruit". It was a very broad topic that produced several comments and lead to a wonderful discussion. One item of discussion that came up was the fruits of the spirit. One of the students had looked up Galatians 5 using a different version of the bible called The Message. As my sister-in-law has a copy of this translation, I momentarily rolled my eyes, assuming it would be some ridiculous rendition of the verses. However, I enjoyed it much more than I had anticipated. It seemed to take each of the fruits, and gave them a much more specific tone. When looking at my own NIV translation, I felt that I was doing alright with each of them. However, when I looked at these new, more detailed definitions, everything became much more personal. I realized I had a lot of work to do. I enjoyed this translation so much that I felt the need to share it with you.

Galatians 5: 22-23

But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.



I hope you all enjoy it and get something out of it as I did.

...I'm pregnant...seriously.

All winter we got carried
Away over on the rooftops
let's get married
All summer we just hurried
so come over, just be patient, and don't worry
So come over, just be patient, and don't worry

So come over, just be patient, and don't worry

And don't worry

No I don't wanna battle from beginning to end
I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge
I don't wanna follow Death and all his friends

No I don't wanna battle from beginning to end
I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge
I don't wanna follow Death and all of his friends

And in the end
We lie awake, and we dream of making our escape

And in the end
We lie awake, and we dream of making our escape


This is one of my new favorite songs. It is from Coldplay's new album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. It is a fantastic album. For all of the Coldplay fans who don't have this album yet, go and get it. For those of you who are not Coldplay fans, go and get it (and the other three albums only $7.99 at best buy right now!).

Love, I fear, is slowly passing away. A once central focus of ones life has become an idea in the back of ones mind. Love should never be an idea or a thought, it should be an action. It is the central focus of what Christ taught and yet is not always the central focus of our lives. In todays society, we have a very loose idea of what love should truly be. In most cases it only exists with family, spouses, children, friends, etc. Yet it is meant for everyone. And for the people who claim to love everyone (or at least attempt to), there is this notion that by not hating everyone, they are loving them. This is so wrong it hurts.

If ever asked for a definition of love, I could never give any other answer than I Corinthians 13. How inspiring is the beginning of this chapter when it lists several amazing actions that an individual can take, but without love they are absolutely worthless. Love is given so much emphasis that it shows that even a good deed is nothing without have love as the basis for that deed. The chapter goes on to personify love and give it a personality. If we have true, genuine love, we will posses these very characteristics that have been attributed to love.

The final portion reads "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." I had always heard the reason that love was the greatest of these three was because it was the greatest command according to Jesus. I agree to an extent, but that is just showing that love is great, but doesn't explain why it is greater than the other two. Recently, I heard an explanation that has stuck with me. Faith, hope, and love are all very important aspects of a Christian's life. However, after we are dead and raised up again to be with our Father, love will be all that is left. Our faith will be confirmed and no longer needed because we will have seen God. Our hope will be fulfilled when we our given a permanent home in heaven with our Lord (and what is there left for us to hope for?). But our love for God, Christ, and all those who have joined us in heaven will continue for an eternity. Notice here that I said "continue" for an eternity. We need to start now. Love in my mind is passing away, but it is not lost.

Love is for everyone. Everyone should receive love and should readily give it as well. Anna Popplewell (an young actress) wrote an article that I found very encouraging. She uses the movie Love Actually and the song Where is the Love to convey the powerful message of love and how it is meant for everyone. There is so much discrimination and stereotyping in our society that it leaves very little room for love. She develops the thought that love and goodwill are ready to be preached and that there is still hope for humanity. This was very encouraging and uplifting to hear. She finishes by stating that "love is the most generous gift that you could possibly give." This brings to mind John 15:13, that Christ showed his love in the ultimate way by giving up his own life for us. If ever given the opportunity to read her article, I highly recommend it.

Most Christians claim to love everyone (I include myself here), but I must say some days I am just hiding behind a lie. I heard an interesting story not to long ago and I would like to share the condensed version of it with you. Essentially, there was a woman driving down the the highway and was weaving in and out of traffic, flipping off other drivers and cursing at them, and displaying classic forms of road rage. Soon after a police officer pulled her over. She had not really been speeding or doing anything wrong, but she was just being inconsiderate. When the police officer finally comes up to her window about 20 minutes later, he apologizes for pulling her over. She asked why he did it, and he replied that he thought the vehicle was stolen and was checking the plates to see if it was. When the driver asked why he thought it was stolen, he said that he saw her bumper sticker and thought there was no way the car could be her car. The bumper sticker said "Proud to be a Christian." Sometimes it is easy to say we are a Christian, but not act with the love for our fellow man in the way that we ought to.

In the movie V for Vendetta, there is an exceptional example of love. If you haven't seen this movie, I recommend it. In the film, one of the characters (Evey) is locked in a cell for a long duration. In the current society, it is considered wrong to be different than the standards set up by the government. If you display certain differences you are locked away and eventually killed. As Evey is seemingly rotting away in this cell, she finds a note written by the former occupant of the cell. In this note, she displays a form of love that I feel is very hard to show. Yet it is something that we should all strive for. The end of the note read "I shall die here. Every inch of me shall perish. Every inch, but one. An inch. It is small and it is fragile and it is the only thing in the world worth having. We must never lose it or give it away. We must NEVER let them take it from us. I hope that whoever you are, you escape this place. I hope that the worlds turns, and that things get better. But what I hope most of all is that you understand what I mean when I tell you that, even though I do not know you, and even though I may never meet you, laugh with you, cry with you, or kiss you, I love you. With all my heart, I love you." This individual expresses her love for someone she has never even met. It is very difficult to do and yet Jesus did it every day. I will hopefully be able to develop such love, so that I can be ready to show it to people of all walks of life whom I have never met and may never see again.

Finally, I would like to share part of the lyrics of a song written by Guster. The song is called All the Way Up to Heaven. In it, the singer begins to describe what heaven will be like (of course doing it in human terms, because no human emotion or thought could ever capture what it could possibly be like). "It's a warm summer breeze, it's a weakness in your knees. It's a perfect place above, full of everlasting love. Nothing to fear, nothing to hide, you just say what's on your mind. Needn't think before you speak, this is how it's meant to be. Ever high, never fall, you can do no wrong at all, in this heaven up above, full of everlasting love." This is a beautiful idea of what it will be like, but what I am looking forward to most is the everlasting love.

As a Christian, it is my responsibility to show love to others and to encourage others to show that same love that the Lord and Christ showed us. In the hymn we sing at our church, we sing "they will know we are Christians by our love." If you see me on the streets and I am not showing you the love that I ought to be showing, I hope that you will correct me and encourage me and I hope that I can do the same for you. Always remember that "love is the most generous gift that you could ever give." Sorry for the lengthy post. Thanks for reading. I love you all.

Kris