Scott's N-Cites

Chocolate Cake for the Soul

It’s been a crazy day (good crazy, mostly) and I’m sure I’m going to write too much tonight. I know people are not likely to read a blog that’s too long, but I really need to write. Today I found out my friend got his girlfriend pregnant. He is a new Christian and I’m glad he felt comfortable telling me. I’m glad to be the kind of friend around whom it is safe to tell the truth.
I visited another friend in the hospital and was very impressed with how he has made his hospital stay an opportunity to share Jesus with as many people as he can.
It’s been a long time since I attended a Kiwanis Club meeting, but I went today and was really glad to be there. I received a lot of love from people in our community who are very gracious and kind. BG is an awesome place.
I also heard some disappointing news that hurt my feelings. I like to think I never let things bother me, but the truth is that I do.
I had a job interview of sorts, helped Seth paint a pinewood derby car and shared the evening with some awesome people who love Jesus and like to talk about things that really matter.

I’m discovering how sheltered my life has been up to this point. I think I would even go so far as to say that my first 36 years have been lived in a rather synthetic environment. I enjoyed it very much, but I don’t think it was very realistic. Kind of like a perpetual church camp, minus the bon-fires and making out in the woods.

Now that I’m rubbing shoulders with “the people Jesus died for who don’t know it yet,” I’m learning that we live in an amazingly competitive world – more than I ever imagined. Dog eat dog. Unbridled self-advancement. Pride. Ego. All that stuff. I don’t like it. Someone I really respect told me recently that he thought I was naïve. Even though I didn’t like to hear it, I think he was right. No, I’m sure he was right. I feel like I have to get used to breathing a different kind of air, but God is giving me all the fuel I need in the midst of continuous change and adjustment. All in all, it’s a great place to be.

I started reading a book called Blue Like Jazz and I love it. It’s earthy, honest, real, and very funny. The humor is especially welcome, given the discomfort of learning what life is like outside the “safety” of professional Christianity. My friend Tina was reading it when she visited us last summer, and she recommended it highly. Since my brother had two copies, he gave me one last weekend. Thanks, Eddie!

I shared with the church that met in our house tonight that this book is like chocolate cake for the soul. That comparison came to mind when Julie brought a delicious chocolate cake to celebrate Hope’s birthday tonight. It was almost as good as my mom’s chocolate cake.

I’d like to share one short paragraph that grabbed me. The author, Donald Miller, shares some wise words spoken by his pastor, Rick:
Rick says that I will love God because He first loved me. I will obey God because I love God. But if I cannot accept God’s love, I cannot love Him in return, and I cannot obey Him. Self-discipline will never make us feel righteous or clean; accepting God’s love will. The ability to accept God’s unconditional grace and ferocious love is all the fuel we need to obey Him in return. Accepting God’s kindness and free love is something the devil does not want us to do. If we hear, in our inner ear, a voice saying we are failures, we are losers, we will never amount to anything, this is the voice of Satan trying to convince the bride that the groom does not love her. This is not the voice of God. God woos us with kindness, He changes our character with the passion of His love.

I don’t know Rick, but I can see why people would want to go to his church. He gets it. Christianity I mean. He really gets it. I think I’m getting it, too.

posted by Scott @ 9:47 PM