Hi.
Well our duty weekend is over. It's been a nice and restful weekend. We've still got tomorrow off which makes it that much sweeter. Today was a day of purging for Dess and i. I'm reminded of stories that my parents would tell me of their early married life. I guess pretty early on they felt that they wanted to get rid of all their non-christian tapes, records, 8-tracks??? and all that kind of media from their lives. Today, Dess and i gave away all our non-christian videos and DVDs. It's a good thing to get rid of stuff that isn't the best for you anyways. Dess has been mentioning the desire to do this for a while now. This morning when she brought it up again i told her that we should act on it if she's felt convicted about it that many times. Now, i know it's not a calling that God has for everyone, but we deemed it best for us. Not long after Dess joined Friend Ships she had a similar conviction, except it was for her music. She broke all her non-christian CDs. I guess it's just the next step in the process for us.
I guess you can figure out by reading this blog that it's probably not a good idea to send us gifts of non-christian DVDs or videos. The next thing i know that Dess will want is the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We both really loved that movie.
My friend from here, Matt, will be leaving at the beginning of next month. This has allowed us to have some deep discussions about life after Friend Ships and all that it entails. It's interesting to think about the future some times. I don't always know what i'm going to do with my life. For a few years, i didn't have any concrete plans about what i would want to do. I guess i tossed up the idea of working on a tug boat as a line handler, considered the Canadian Coast Guard or Navy at one point even. Lately my idea about the immediate future after Friend Ships would look like this: Move to Stockton, CA. Go to college there to learn how to be an electrician and also take some gasoline and diesel mechanic courses. Find more ministries or missions that i can get involved in using my skills. Maybe get a job to pay the bills while i'm doing all of this.
It's really vague to me at this point just what kind of ministry i want to actually do. I know that i'm a 'hands on' worker. I like to do physical work where i can bless somebody. For example, last weekend, Dess and i spent our afternoons working with a couple who's house went through the hurricane. I helped with the roofing. We were able to be hands on and didn't want anything in return. I like to be able to give and not expect anything in return. So, to me, even though i was tired and hurting after the weekend, i was still filled with joy at being able to help out.
Although my future is vague, i'm still looking forward to it. Each day has it's own rewards. I don't want to look more to the future than i do to the present, so i don't miss the jewels of each day. I also want to have some goal that i can press towards, so i can strive towards something and not feel that the present has no purpose. It's kind of this wierd paradox.
Well, that's about as deep as i'm going to get for tonight. We miss you and hope you enjoy the blog.
5 comments:
Yup. I admit it. We went through the "purging" in our younger years. I don't remember all the details of our motivations but I think it was healthy for us. And I think it helped reassure us that we weren't so tied to these things that we weren't willing to give them up. There were many other blessings that came along with it as well - I think because we were sincerely following what we believed to be God's direction, just as you.
There were down sides too, though. You've already pointed out the one danger and are obviously dealing with that. That is the danger of thinking that everyone else should take the same stand. Along with that one, of course, is the danger of becoming pharisaical about it. Satan can really use that one. "Thank you God that I am better than these other folks who are out there enjoying...." I know you are able to deal with that temptation, as well.
However, there are more subtle dangers. For one thing, there is a tendency to see this as a way of dealing with the "worldly" things. My view of what is "worldly" has changed somewhat.
I used to think that we had a better chance of avoiding "worldly" things by sticking with things produced by Christians: books, movies, music, etc. I am now of the view that God speaks to us in many ways that we don't expect - including through using those who are his enemies. Paul (the apostle, not the Butler) seemed to be heading in this direction when he talked about those who were trying to get him in trouble by preaching. He said something like "who cares what their motivation is, as long as the truth is being preached."
You don't have to go very far in secular literature, music, movies, etc. before you find God's truth hollering out - often in spite of the intention of the creator of the art. God is not limited to speaking through Christians. He's used such strange things as Jonah's whale and Balaam's ass to get his message across. And, as many of us who have been around long enough have found, sometimes the stuff that comes from Christians is just as "worldly" (even more so in some cases) as that which comes from secular sources.
I think trying to stick with Christian-produced art is somewhat helpful in trying to avoid the more blatant forms of worldliness: inappropriate sexual content, language, violence, etc. I think it is particularly helpful to those who are new in deeply committed discipleship or who are struggling with specific temptations.
However, we need to be careful that it is not an abdication of our responsibility to dig deep into the Word and to learn to rely on the Spirit to discern right and wrong in everything we are exposed to - whether Christian or not.
Am I suggesting you pull back from this commitment? Not at all. You are doing what you should: following God's direction. I admire your sacrifice and your obvious dedication to right living and obedience to the Spirit. We're tremendously proud of you guys and your contrarian approach to life. Just wanted to share some of our experiences with the approach.
Really appreciate you keeping up the blog. It's great to know how you are doing. Sorry we got cut off on the phone call over the weekend. Mom tried again a number of times but couldn't get through.
Love you. Really hope we get to see you guys in person again soon!
Ummm, I'm pretty sure Jack Johnson had a Christian grandmother...maybe...does that count?! love ya,
John Lee Hooker's biological father was a preacher, as I recall. I don't think much of it rubbed off on the Hook though! I think it was his stepfather who got him started in the blues.
Dad, thanks for the comment. It was deep and informative. I guess i should ammend my post because we didn't just get rid of non-christian media, but we got rid of some christian stuff as well. It's more a matter of just freeing ourselves from the things that tie us down. About being cut off from Mom the other day, well it seems our telephone cord got chafed on the side of the ship and rubbed all the way through until the wire fell into the river. Almost seems normal for something like that to happen at Friend Ships. I'm glad that you are still reading this from time to time. We love to get your comments and know that you are out there. love ya, joel
Ya. You KNOW we're out there!
P.S. If you're getting rid of anything I'd like, feel free to send it my way - tools, CDs - I'll take pretty much anything good.
P.P.S. BTW... while you're trying to get rid of the things that are tying you down, make sure to not let go of Dess. She's a keeper.
Luv ya...
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