"Slap Shot" of Conviction
This past weekend was a relaxing one.(Those are my favorite kinds.)
This past weekend was also a convicting one.
(Those are good ones and yet hard ones.)
Saturday morning I met with a committee from church on setting up our first all-church retreat. With only about 60 church attendees, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I was delegated to my (spiritual) gift as graphic designer. Suprise, suprise!
Our theme for the retreat, which will be held in October, is "Make a Joyful Noise". Now it's not about singing even though that's what first came to mind. In this case, "Noise" refers to: growing closer to Christ, loving others as we love ourselves, sharing God's love through word and deed. Basically, it's what it means to truly follow Christ.
My job as the graphic designer is to create a logo that represents that entire last paragraph. Intimidating huh? Well, actually I spent some time on it yesterday and I think I have a simple logo solution. After I refine it and get proper approval, I'll unveil it to you first. That's just one of the many benefits, you, as a reader of BEing Designed by Christ, receive. ;)
That afternoon was chores. Erin took a break from her "Eeoyre Endeavor" to scrub some floors and do a little house cleaning while Bella and I took advantage the warm temperatures to sand a bookcase in preparation for painting. (On a side note, if anybody wants to meet your neighbors and potentially have a great tool for ministry, purchase a small dog. Bella attracts everyone.)Sunday morning it was my turn in the rotation to run PowerPoint. I always enjoy running it at church. Let's face it, no matter how good of a speaker you have for a pastor, sometimes your eyelids feel like a couple of 45 pound weights. Running PowerPoint is an excellent way to pay attention. (For a second side note: Pastor Chis and Mike, those last two sentences weren't meant for you.) :)
So you might be wondering what's up with the Slap Shot reference?
Before I recomitted my life to Christ in 2000, I lived with 3 other single guys who all loved hockey and Slap Shot could have been our token movie. I loved it. There are so many classic lines and scenes that you can't help but quote and remember them after the movie finishes.
Present day arrives and Christ is my life. Now all of those "naughty" parts of the movie I once thought were hilarious and quoteable, I'm embarrassed at. When I watched the movie on Saturday and Erin walked in and was wondering what I was watching due to it's content, I had to tell her what I just told you. "I forgot how vulgar this was."
Now I'm not telling you that watching Slap Shot or movies like it is a sin. I'm not brushed up on my theology enough to go into that. But what Christ convicted me of was, was this the best use of time? Time that God has given me? In this particular case, my answer has to be "no".
As a movie lover, I own many more Slap Shot type movies, some worse. Can I honestly call some of the trash on TV "trash" when I go out and pay for worse? Ouch. I have a few movies which we own but don't watch due to their content. What my next step should and will be is to get rid of those movies. (That's gonna be extremely difficult for me.) Thankfully God is patient and continually working in my life. He's not done yet and to quote the title of blog, I'm "Being Desinged by Christ!"
—b
Monday, April 30th, 2007/Psalm chapters 79–87GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like chaff before the wind. Like fire that burns the forest And like a flame that sets the mountains on fire, So pursue them with Your tempest And terrify them with Your storm. Fill their faces with dishonor, That they may seek Your name, O LORD. —Psalm 83:13-16
HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
When we are hurt by others, we want justice. Why? For our sake? For God's sake? For both? The thing I love about the Bible is that it's all about God. It's for His glory, and this passage is no different. We want justice (and rightfully so) but it's ultimately for God's glory in that those who wronged us would be disciplined by God and seek Him because of it.
PROFILES OF IMMIGRANT GROUPS IN THE TWIN CITIES
13. Cambodian — Pop. 10,000• Have been coming to the Twin Cities since the 1970s.
• 64% of all Cambodian families have obtained home ownership in the Twin Cities
• The average Cambodian household size is 4.5 people.
• Religion: Majority are Buddhist and some are Christian.
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