Spring Break in review

Warning, this post may be boring/slow.  I’m putting it here for documentation purposes and as a support letter/informational for the people that graciously supported me financially.  :)

This year for spring break I went to New Albany, Indiana on a mission trip.  16 of us from Harding drove up there in two big vans.  It was a really great group, which made doing everything so much better.  I’ll recap some of the events that were most significant to me.

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Life in the fast lane

I’m still anxiously awaiting the day that I can relax knowing that I have nothing else that I should be doing.  Sadly that hasn’t come yet.  But enough of that–life is beautiful, still.

Some of you know that I’m a big fan of John Piper.  The way he teaches through the scriptures in wisdom is very encouraging and challenging.  Today I read a blog post by him about his coming leave from all his current responsibilities because “a growing sense that my soul, my marriage, my family, and my ministry-pattern need a reality check from the Holy Spirit.”  I’d recommend the read.  It got me reflecting about my own life.  I’ve been doing ‘alright’ in my walk with God, but not to a point that I see if fully guided by the Holy Spirit.  There’s always so much that we need to let go of to experience the kingdom of God more.

“I know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.  However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the job the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible and goes along with what I’ve been thinking about.  So many times things come up in our lives that take too much of a spotlight, pulling us away from what matters most.

The sermon today at Downtown church was about God’s pursuit of us, and our response to His pursuit.  The response that was highlighted on was fasting.  This, along with some other things that have been going on around campus have kinda brought to light the importance of fasting in my life.  Whatever it is that you fast from, make sure that the space is filled with growth and time with God.

We’ll see where this goes.  Grace, peace, and love be with you all.

~ Jon

Happy late St. Patrick’s day

ahhh….life is crazy.  I have so much to do right now–namely a huge art project that I’ll probably be up super late working on, but lately I just haven’t been very motivated.

I did a photo shoot with the BOX queens about a month ago for St. Patrick’s day.  It wasn’t my favorite shoot due me forgetting my umbrella for the flash, the strobes not always firing when I wanted them to, and I just wasn’t on top of the game in terms of having an idea of what to do for the shoot.  It still went alright though.

The St. Patty card!

The window shot.

~ Jon

Something to think about

Edit: It was pointed out to me that Francis Chan does a sermon about this very thing, called “The Most Important Lesson I Could Ever Teach.”  I highly recommend checking it out, and you can download the video or the audio.

From “The Pursuit of God” by A.W. Tozer:  (via)

“How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of ‘accepting’ Christ . . . and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him, we need no more seek Him. This is set before us as the last word in orthodoxy, and it is taken for granted that no Bible-taught Christian ever believed otherwise. Thus the whole testimony of the worshiping, seeking, singing church on that subject is crisply set aside. The experiential heart-theology of a grand army of fragrant saints is rejected in favor of a smug interpretation of Scripture which would certainly have sounded strange to an Augustine, a Rutherford or a Brainerd.” (pp. 16-17)

This quote hits home for me because I’m one of the worst perpetrator of this.  I try to read and listen to things to hopefully make God more real in my life and reflect through my actions–different blogs, sermons here and there, chapel talks, devos, etc.,  BUT as far as me actually making spiritual food through my own research, my own reading, etc., I’m doing pretty bad.  Sometimes I feel like I expect Jesus to fix me without any effort on my part.  I need less of self and more of God.

My prayer for myself is that the Lord will break me and have His Way with me.

How does this apply to your life?

~ Jon

Greatest Warrior Function

Everybody that showed up. It wasn't the biggest function ever, but it was just the right amount of people. ;)

Twas a good function (group picture huge).  I’ll just share my favorite pictures from the day.  I’ve been kinda undecided about how to share the pictures that I take at functions, being historian and all.  I’ve thought of the idea of keeping them all until the slideshow at the end of the year, but I think that’s kinda lame, since a couple people already seeing the pictures doesn’t really make it that much more epic.  I think the motto that I’ll use for now is that I’ll only post my favorite pictures on here, unless anyone wants the rest of the pictures, and asks me for them, in which I’ll upload them to the gallery.

The rest of the pictures… (comments / story in captions)

Old people (out team) haven't lost it. Dominated some kids.

baha--my brother is hilarious.

~ Jon