Servanthood

Keep in mind the servanthood of Jesus Christ. When Jesus washed his disciples' feet, he took the position of the lowliest slave or servant in the house. He put himself dead last for the sake of those around him.

Be that kind of servant.

Don't Stop There...

Thinking about humility always takes me back to Philippians 2:1-11.  

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 

 ⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

 ⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
   did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
   by taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!
 ⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
   and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father.

The ultimate act of humility. Jesus was God, he could have exercised powers and done anything with his life. But instead, he came to love. He came to serve. He came to be humble. To be obedient. And ultimately, he came to die. He chose to do what he was sent to do, when he could have done anything.


We have that choice too. We can chose to live under the influences of this world. Or we can chose to live under the influence of the cross. We have a daily choice to live like Jesus did, or not. And if we choose Jesus, daily we die to the old self, daily we become obedient, daily we are called to humility, service, and love.


Jesus' humility lead straight to sacrifice. So should ours. The ultimate act of humility --> the ultimate sacrifice. He sacrificed himself. I don't know about you guys, but that blows my mind every time I think about it. He gave his life for me? If he sacrificed his life, why is it so hard for me to sacrifice something that is so little in comparison to the people around me? Christ sacrificed for us, we can sacrifice for others. Because we love God, love others and are humble, sacrifice should be an automatic outpouring. It shouldn't stop at humility. 

Tick Tock

Time isn't something that belongs to me. It isn't really something that belongs to anyone. Still, I frequently refer to doing things on "my time." I take "my time." I don't want to do that on "my time." When I think of sacrificing myself for God and his kingdom I get warm fuzzies inside. YAY I GET TO SACRIFICE. But when it comes down to it, the thing God so frequently wants me to sacrifice the most, is the thing I'm least willing to give. My time. Physical pain? No sweat. Hard work? I can handle that. But when God wants me to devote time and energy into relationships or service I squirm a little. That's my time. I turn a little bit into Moses when God asks him to talk to the Pharaoh. SURELY God, surely you can't mean me. You made a mistake. There is someone who is so much better suited to this job. I don't have a problem being friends with this person, but I want to do it on my own time. I want to let things happen naturally. I don't want to be intentional, I want to "let it flow." But God's call is irresistible to those who have drank of his cup. When he calls us to give our time to him, we must.

I think that is my biggest area of fear when it comes to sacrifice: that God will ask me to serve him in a way that waylays my plans for life. That he will take me on a detour and say "Hey Kira, I know you thought this was what you are going to be doing... but actually you are going to be doing this for a while, then you can get back to that plan." The thing is, that God kinda has control of my life, and regardless of how many times I snatch that control back, He keeps reminding me that He is God, and He loves me, and He has a higher calling. So I'm challenged, to give up my most valued possession, one that doesn't actually exist, and give it to God.

God I gave you my body and soul, and I withheld from you my time. I'm so sorry for that, but I pray that you will give me more opportunities to joyfully serve you. My time doesn't exist any more, it is all your time.

Also: Thank you to those of you who have been praying for my Aunt Mel. I just wanted to encourage all of you in God's power because my Aunt has been healed enough to be sent home, after only a week of being in the hospital, when the doctors initially thought that a month would be the definite lower limit. In the beginning a month would have been a miracle, but God's healing worked beyond any of our hopes and dreams.

Week 3: Humility

So I look back on my week: week 3, and it's amazing to see how these daily devotionals are demonstrated in my life. We were reading Job in my religion class and we had to read a few supplementary articles with conflicting views etc. Anyways one of them was about the fierce and indifferent landscapes. It really spoke to me, it mentioned how we are so trained to be selfish in consumed in our everyday issues. God's creation is so unbelievably majestic that when we encounter it, we are drawn out of ourselves and immediately consumed with awe for His creation and power. I really needed to hear that- I went for a walk around town and just appreciated the beauty of what I saw because I need to realize that my "issues" my everyday stressers are not the focus of the world, I am a part of something bigger and greater. So I need to encounter God's creation as just that- HIS creation- something that doesn't revolve around me and won't be dependent on me. I need to be pulled out of myself and let God overwhelm me- let me show me what he has been dying to show me. What is more humbling than knowing we are so little? And taking this lesson and applying it to leadership is so encouraging. "To crave abundance is to crave Jesus. To crave Jesus is to serve like Jesus." I mean wow, I want that...so badly, So God, please take me out of myself and into your embrace because only then can I learn to serve humbly, only then can I appreciate your majesty fully, God let us be encourage eachother each day to be humble. "May I never boast except in the cross of your Lord Jesus Christ"

- Week 3 was a great week, and I can't wait to see how God moves me this week.

Thoughts and Ponderings

This week I have been thinking over what idolatry means. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:4-5). Going through different theological books with a friend, this came up and passed the golden calf I never really gave it much thought. I feel like most Christians are aware of making things or people their idols, but what about making actions their idols? Like exercising to the point of where it becomes like religious, something you have to do. Or even more profound, thought idols. It's really easy to think that Idols are real things that we can experience and touch or feel, but even thought based can be idolatrous. My favorite example, Talledega Nights, most of you know the reference, "I like to think of him as the eight pound six ounce baby Jesus." It's true that Jesus was at one time a baby, but how do we know what he looks like? God is completely apart from us except through Jesus and so there is no way that we can imagine what he looks like. This is the way I've been thinking about it, if you disagree please feel free to correct me. Continuing with this logic though, since we really can't imagine what He is like, then by trying to imagine we are just assigning Him a false identity which really becomes more like an idol.

Humiliated to Grace

There were quite a few things about this week's devotionals that stuck out to me, but I really want to focus on grace. When I was reading through all of the scripture and devotionals, I noticed that a lot of them dealt with treating people equally. This led me to a discovery. While I might have a million and one differences with the person sitting next to me, there is one similarity that narrows that gap by infinity. That one thing is grace. Regardless of whether or not that person decides to acknowledge it or take hold of it, Christ died for them and loves them in a way that they will never know by not stepping up to the call of grace. How do I portray this grace to people? Humility. The most tangible way to show God's grace to others is by treating them with grace myself. This means forgiveness even when I don't feel like it and serving when I have nothing left to give. Jesus fills me with His grace so that I can pour it out on others, not to build a bigger and bigger reservoir.

Wednesday's reflection talked briefly about craving abundance and craving Jesus. In my women's Bible study, we are going through A.W. Tozer's "Knowledge of the Holy." This week I had the great pleasure of teaching on the grace of God. (This year in general has been very humbling for me. If you ever want to put your insignificance into perspective, lead a study on the attributes of God.) Anyhow, in this chapter Tozer writes:

"We can never know the enormity of our sin, neither is it necessary that we should. What we can know is that 'where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.' To "abound in sin: that is the worst and the most we can do. The word abound defines the limit of our finite abilities; and although we feel out iniquities rise over us like a mountain, the mountain, nevertheless, has definable boundaries: it is so large, so high, it weighs only this certain amount and no more. But who shall define the limitless grace of God? Its "much more" plunges our thoughts into infinitude and confounds them there. All thanks be to God for grace abounding."

And so, when we put things into the perspective of eternity, we can see life in the light of God's infinite grace. The very word "infinite" is enough to send me to my knees, but the fact that His grace is sufficient to cover all of my sin should round me into a state of humble service. Abundance is only what we are capable of, it has limits, but Jesus is infinite and fills us continually. How much pride could we possibly have in the presence of an infinite being? The answer: an abundance. But that's nothing God can't cover.

Servants

I have to say when I read the question, "how do you react when someone treats with insult and disrespect? Do you choose to serve and honor that person or do you retaliate?" I had to stop and think. I know that we are called to serve one another and to love on others even when they do not love on us. But it is difficult at times. The text says you are called to serve if you are in a position of widespread influence and you are called to serve even if you are in a position of little influence and recognition.

WOW, no matter what we are supposed to serve and the inspiration comes from Christ. When we truly serve others that is when we can grow stronger.

So back to the questions. When I looked back on past experiences I know I had the tendency to retaliate rather then to serve when people threw down insults. It always hits me and I think, why would they say things like that or wow they are rude. But instead I should be thinking, hey God has put this person here to honor and to love. No matter what these are God's children and we are called to love on one another and to serve. To crave Jesus is to serve like Jesus. And when we serve like Jesus that is when the reward of joy, love, and freedom come. We have been called to serve and to love on God's children.

I love each and every one of you and am praying for an awesome summer of growth within each other and our relationships with the Lord.

Say a little prayer for you

I think I've always underestimated the power of prayer. And I think the reason for this is that deep down I feel like God's power isn't quite good enough, and I need to take action too in order to accomplish whatever it is I'm praying about.

My friends have been very stressed these past couple of weeks, and I've just really wanted to do something about it. I've picked them flowers and brought them tea and little things like that to to try to encourage them, but I still felt powerless to help them. One of my other friends asked me if I was praying for these stressed friends, and I said "yes I've been praying, but I'm a woman of action and I feel like I need to do something." She then grabbed me, and, shaking me, exclaimed: "Karly, prayer IS action!" This really hit me.

I think, deep down, I've always thought of prayer as sort of a cop-out, what you do when every other option has failed. But it isn't! It should be the very first thing we do when confronted with anything! Praying for someone is just as important, if not more important, than tangibly helping someone. And I realized that the reason that I felt that way about prayer was that I haven't been humble in my heart before God - I didn't really believe that His power was enough. And later that night, in Bible study, one of my stressed friends said that "the best way to love someone and take care of them is to let God take care of them." I hadn't trusted God with my friends' well being. Which is completely silly, because He loves my friends more than I could possibly imagine!

Our God is so good, and is all-powerful and cares for my friends in a way that I will never be able to. This week He has taught me to trust Him not with my own life, but my friends' lives as well, and He has reminded me of His wonderful power. And I've come to love Him even more because of it!

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom. 8:37-39

Humility and Vulnerability

I don't like being vulnerable. It's probably not most peoples' favorite either. Recently I've been seeing this inner struggle against being open with people as merely my pride fighting against the call to humility. To be vulnerable with others, to share sin and burdens, to others know about what is going in my life, to show others that I am by no means perfect is truly a humbling experience. My pride though wants me to keep up the facade of perfection. But facades do not create community, they do not create a body that lives and breathes together. Instead pride leaves an individual fighting against the obvious, humbling truth that we are a broken people who love Christ. God, help me to not fight vulnerability but instead be humbled by the love you show to those who confess their brokenness.

Humility in Service

"You can gauge your heart of service by how you react when someone actually treats you like one... The position that you occupy [driver, trainee, barney coordinator, whatever] is immaterial. The condition of your heart is essential."

Wednesday's blurb on humility drove me back to a chapter I recently read on the topic of service from The Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster:

"When we choose to serve, we are still in charge. We decide whom we will serve and when we will serve. And if we are in charge, we will worry a great deal about anyone stepping on us, that is, taking charge over us. But when we choose to be a servant, we give up the right to be in charge. There is great freedom in this. If we voluntarily choose to be taken advantage of, then we cannot be manipulated. When we choose to be a servant, we surrender the right to decide who and when we will serve. We become available and vulnerable" (emphasis mine).

The call [or at least a call] this summer is this: humble yourself, even in terms of how you view your commitment to serve this summer. Don't just choose to serve, but choose to be a servant. And then, if/when you're treated like a servant, you'll be free to authentically smile, fist bump the Jesus who re-defined deity in terms of being a servant (whole other topic entirely) and is stooping lower right alongside you, and keep cleaning the ski boat or swimming out the front tie or playing endless games of Mafia or un-staking to move AGAIN for program, or, or, or...

Week 3: Hummility - Luke 22: 26-2

Hey guys! I love all of your posts! I hope you are really digging deep into the scriptures and the devotional. I have enjoyed being stretched and challenged this week in becoming humble.

This week I have really enjoyed the Luke 22 verse. "the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant". I love Christ's take on leadership. To be a leader is to be a servant. I know that the world does not often take this view of leadership. People often assume that leaders get the best of everything and deserve to be served by others. In the world, leaders get the best treatment, the most appreciation, and the closest parking spots. In our world it is expectant that leaders get the best of everything.

In the time Luke was written the Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day. They held much of the world's views on leadership. They got the best treatment, the best education, and they were seen as the closest to God (in their eyes, of course). So how revolutionary was Jesus' perspective on leadership? Hugely revolutionary! Both during that time and now. If you are a leader you are called to serve, to give up of yourself, to put yourself last, and to give up your rights so others can have theirs. ....wow....this honestly rattles me. The worlds perspective is so far from what Christ calls us to.

We are called to lead this summer on houseboats...which means we are ultimately called to serve. We are called to be like Christ and to serve as sacrificially as He has done. Christ is the leader of all, and yet He becomes the servant to all. He has left heaven, become nothing and served until death (Philippians 2:5-8). And he has given his life, poured himself out, and died as a servant to us all. He has become the ultimate leader, by becoming the ultimate servant. We are called to do the same.

Lord, I pray that you help us understand what it means to be a true leaders. Help us to become leaders by teaching us how to be servants like you. Show us what it means to be humble and made less, so that you could be made more. It is all for your glory. In your name, Amen

No Other Way

Ok I can't help it, I have to go again. Just got back from a message about Jesus crucified. The heading of this blog says that its for us to share how we are meeting the risen Lord Jesus daily and let me tell you people, I met Him tonight, woah I met Him tonight. I got slapped in the face with Him tonight. What has really got me on my knees is when the people mock Jesus and tell Him to come down from the cross. Reading that verse it hit me so hard that Jesus did not come down from that cross. so simple but its blowing me away. He remained. Because You remained for me Jesus, I will remain, I will remain for you. Teach me and give me the strength to remain on that cross and share in your suffering.

Thinking about Jesus crucified I find myself thinking a lot about how He was fully human and how he experienced complete human pain and suffering on the cross, but tonight I find myself thinking about Him fully God. We, human kind, crucified God. We spat in GOD'S face, we split GOD'S back open, we humiliated, belittled, and tortured GOD. we hung GOD naked at high noon on a tree. we crucified the GOD of the universe, our creator. and in that moment GOD the Father poured out His wrath on GOD the Son, on Himself. God cannot give us any more than He already has, He has poured Himself out completely. Knowing this, how could we not have a fiery, burning passion for Christ?! If we want to really get this story, we need to get our hands dirty, we're gonna have to sweat a little bit, we're gonna have to dig...and be dug.

There was no other way for our sins to be atoned for than through the cross, there is no other way to follow Jesus than through the cross. I will remain, because You remained.

All you need is love

I just want to start by saying how I am always amazed at how God knows when I need to hear something -- it is always at the right moment. God has great timing! When reading today's devotional, one question got me thinking. "How do you react when someone treats you with an insult and disrespect?" This was a question that I needed to hear right now. I am currently struggling with an individual who continues to disrespect me even when I show them nothing but respect. I find myself angered and frustrated. I find myself wondering how I can gain this person's respect and consideration. After trying and trying, I become angry with myself but then I remember that anger will get me nowhere. No matter how much disrespect I am shown, my response should always be love, service, and honor. It shouldn't matter to me how this person treats me. What should matter is how I treat them. I can humbly accept their criticism and in return, love them. I think that this is something that we all find challenging but it is important to know that retaliation will not result in progress. Just as the reading says, "the condition of your heart is essential." Love should always be the condition. No matter what, we love on people. I may never gain the respect of this individual, but while that may seem important, I need to understand that all I need to do is love them.

God always chooses the right moment to share with me what He wants to learn. I was almost to my breaking point but today's devotional is such a strong reminder for me to love constantly. It is important to understand where my heart is and to understand how I need react and not how I want to react. It is my prayer that we all can remember to love regardless of the situation. I would appreciate your prayers for me and my relationship. Pray that I may continue to love this individual no matter what happens. Pray that I may trust God, and follow my heart and not my head.

Prayers

I wanted to thank you all for your prayers for my Aunt Mel. She is awake, and talking! She is making jokes and it appears that she won't need brain surgery at this time. She is still going to be in the hospital for a long time, but it seems that her mind is for the most part in one piece.

Continued prayers for her healing, and the healing of her family are MUCH felt and appreciated, and praise for the mercy of God to have kept her mind safe!

Breakfast on the Beach

Ever since Friday of week 1 (and I mean when we did week 1 with the barneys over a month ago!) Jesus keeps challenging me with that one line: "Do you love me?"

And now as we go through the different staff characteristics, it just becomes more and more relevant. Sincere love for people - do you love me? Humility - do you love me? With four words, He can shut down any self-serving thoughts or actions. Literally every morning I'm finding that He brings me back to breakfast on the beach and asks me to recommit the coming day to Him - do you love me?

"But Jesus, I'm tired, weary, broken down!"

Do you love me?

"I just can't invest in this [person, conversation, relationship] right now - I need time for myself."

Do you love me?

"Jesus, I've got my day planned out, so I don't really need you right now."

Do you love me?

"Stop it inviting me back to sit with you - I don't deserve it!"

Pearl. Do you love me?

"But the One Who is the Greatest Among You Must Become Like the Youngest"

Two things crossed my mind when I read Luke 22:26-27. The first was humility, of course, and the second was child-like faith. Here, Christ is calling us to be like the youngest. Generally speaking, the youngest of the group have lived the least number of days. Therefore, it is fair to assume that if the age difference is large (such as 20 and 3) the younger has not had as many experiences and has the least amount of knowledge. I agree that in being called to be the youngest we are being asked to submit ourselves to those around us as if everyone were our elders. Treat everyone and serve everyone as if there is something that we can learn from them, something they can teach us because everyone can teach us something. I have been struggling with this recently. Being a Christian that goes to a Christian school and goes to church and reads her Bible and prays (ugh I'm disgusting myself already), I fall into the temptation of thinking I know it all when I DEFINITELY do not. I need to become like a child who looks at everybody as if I have so much to learn from them. Every experience is new and different. Jesus has so unbelievably much to teach me, and I believe he will use the campers to teach all of us. They will be learning directly from Jesus through our Christ-inspired actions and when he speaks through us. They will not be learning from us. The little girl in the video below melts my heart. She has no shame in admitting that she does not know the bible verse. She simply asks for the next line. Father, I pray that you mold me and that I grow into one of your children. Help me to not be ashamed to ask you and the people you have put in my life for the next line. Help me to recognize I do not know it all, and that only You do. I pray that you give the campers open hearts to learn from You this summer, and that you engrave humility upon all our hearts as a sign that we belong to You.

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=JJB9B1NU

This past weekend I went to a conference with my professor in Seattle. Remembering that we were going to be reading/thinking about humility this week, I began to do some observations. I tried to recognize instances in which others were(n't) being humble and instances in which I was or was not being humble. I noticed the maid who comes into the hotel room, cleans up the room, folds up sheets, folds up the ironing board, makes the beds, and so on. No one knows who he or she is, and he/she does it for little pay. I noticed some professors who decided to speak out much more than others in order to proclaim their knowledge to others. I heard comments about why so-and-so's paper was better than another, and how they deserve honor because they spent so much time on this paper. Everyone sought good/positive comments from the professors after reading their papers, but whenever the professor offered a point of critique/improvement, their faces shifted in expression and they seemed frustrated and angry with the professor. Following each of the professor's comments, the students would rebuttal, explaining that the professor had misunderstood the argument, or misread the thesis, etc. etc. Instead of willingly/humbly accepting the critique, there was backlash and conversations to follow outside the classroom about the professor's inability to understand, and why that student was so glad they did not attend that university because they have professors' who don't know what they are talking about.

After serving at Sonshine for the past three years, I recognized the importance and value of critique, allowing others--no matter they are more experienced, younger, a barney, a youth pastor, or a dockhand--to help you to improve. NONE of us are perfect, yet we seem to construct ourselves in a way that says PERFECTION! There are always things that we can be working on, can be doing better. Whenever someone else gives us advice, we should just take it, whether or not we agree. It's always a better answer to just shake your head, smile, and tell them 'thanks' for their advice/help! Then we avoid unnecessary conflict.

As a driver/trainee team, I think it is important for us to remember that we are all just servants of the Lord this summer. No one is higher up or more important or needed more than anyone else. We are all learning how to best serve the Lord, and therefore, when someone approaches us, it is best to take that suggestion with a smile and a good attitude. Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers a multitude of sins.

In the same way, it is important for the person approaching the other to it with humility, respect, and love as well. To not offend or insult or hurt the person they are approaching, but rather do it out of love for that person - sincere love.

Get Off My Throne

Reading Isaiah 6 today I was super humbled realizing that God cleansed Isaiah to be a servant, not a king, or anything mighty. He cleansed him to do the dirty job of speaking truth to Israel that they didn't want to hear, to be ridiculed, isolated, and scorned. God has cleansed us, chosen us, and made us new not to be mighty leaders but humble servants. We have been atoned for to do the dirty work. And in that humility, lead, not to ourselves but to Christ.

I'm reading through 1 Samuel right now and was struck by this passage, "but when [Israel] said, 'give us a king to lead us' this displeased Samuel so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him...it is not you they have rejected, but the have rejected me as their King" -1Samuel 8:6-7

On houseboats I feel like we don't often pray for God to appoint us a king, but we pray, or hope in our hearts that kids will love us, that we will be the ones to speak the perfect words, bring a kid to Christ, that we would lead in such a mighty way, basically, that God would appoint us king. And in hoping for our own glorious leadership, we reject Him as king, as the ultimate leader of the houseboat, of these kids, of our lives, of our hearts. In this I hear a strong but gentle command, Em, get off my throne.

When I take up a whole houseboat on my shoulders I feel emptied, worn out, unappreciated, and drained. When I rely on and crave the abundance of Jesus, I am worn and filled, overflowing with Jesus' sincere love for others. God has not given us the strength to stand above those we serve, but the strength and grace to kneel on our knees by their side.

Sincere Love for People - Week 2

Hardly an hour has gone by over the last week without me pausing and recognizing a quiet, restless voice that simply says, "pray for those who persecute you. Love your enemies." The voice beckons me to I Peter "when they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate. When He suffered, He made no threats." Dear Jesus, take your knife and fire and offer a sacrifice that kills me and yet establishes your eternal life. Clear out this spiritual house (Peter & Paul) so that it is no longer full of my vain glory but is fundamentally a home that "hungers and thirst for righteousness." Then and only then with your new nature can I sincerely love you and others. Keep cleansing this temple Lord and establishing your Kingdom in and through it. Thanks for your unfailing, unceasing love and never ending mercy. You are amazing and I am in awe of you.

Throughout the Whole Wide World

I am going to take a moment to be honest and say that I have been having a hard time with this blog thing. I had talked to Mike about the leadership blog and was totally stoked on becoming a part of another blog with such an awesome group with so many opportunities to grow and challenge one another, but with starting a new quarter I found myself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of posts. Not that that is a bad thing by any means, I just found myself unable to keep up with reading them, a feeling that turned into discouragement for not being able to get my priorities and time worked out so I could be a contributing part of the blog. However, I realized that was pride speaking in setting an expectation of having to read all other posts before I could contribute... my mind works funny sometimes. I'm not much of a writer, but here goes...

I recently read through Romans 1 for another Bible Study and was especially touched by vs. 8 "I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world!"... wow what a statement. To have a church (Rome in this case) living a life of faith that is so powerful and counter-culture that the people they interact with are noticing and other telling people about this radical faith, who are then going and telling other people about it because they were so strongly impressed simply be hearing about it! And so on until the whole world knows and is hearing.

Reading in the context of Sonshine, I thought about how much of a challenge it is for us to pray that the people we interact with during the summer are so impacted by the way we live our lives that after the week is over it is what they go home and tell others about when asked how camp was. Not about ski runs or mafia or whatever else "fun" they do, and not about "us" as a super cool staff, but rather that they are so impacted by clearly seeing Christ through the "windows" of our lives that they themselves are changed and go tell others about what they saw.

Just a thought. Thanks everyone for the posts, I know they have been a great encouragement to me.