sunday night thinking

it seems to me that the best thing the local church can do to demonstrate Christ is to...well...demonstrate Christ.

the beautiful loss

Let me just get this out there right now.

I cannot stand losing.

I hate it. Despise it. Do everything I can to avoid it. Well...I wouldn't cheat to win but you should get the point. That said, imagine my dismay when I lost my tennis match today to some slow put-put pusher. It was maddening. Worse even was the fact that I really lost because I beat myself (tons of unforced errors).

But there is a certain humbling factor that comes with losing that I'm very grateful for.

It didn't occur to me until I took my post-loss shower but the joy that comes with losing is that it shines a very bright spotlight on our inadequacies; that is, it's a highlighter revealing how imperfect we are. There are some times where we can try with all of our might and come up short.

Don't get me wrong. I still love winning. But it's the losses that really check your character and help you to refocus. And for those things...I am grateful for my loss tonight.

feeling funky again

The best way to know yourself?

Get put in uncomfortable situations. I've found myself getting more and more exposed as someone who craves acceptance. This isn't inherently bad of course. But the danger is that there's the potential to do anything that would be perceived as acceptable--even if it means doing something you don't want to do.

Lately I've been more comfortable doing what I wanted to do. Not because I want to reject certain people, but because I believe that it's important to be consistent YOU regardless of whose company you are in.

Hopefully these seeds will bear fruit someday.