My hope is that one day I would be powerful and courageous enough to say exactly what I see.

In the rain.

Today we got drenched in the rain. As we walked home from school, Trish and I got drenched in the rain. It was the kind of rain that saturates clothes down to the very last fiber. The kind of rain that makes puddles in shoes and washes mascara down faces. It threatens books, and ruines electronic devices (luckily, I had my insulated scooby-do lunch box to protect the frog on my nalgene and my cell phone). I've seen and felt much rain lately.
Since school started, I found myself completely forgetting about God's presence throughout the day. So much so, that in the evenings I would usually get an overwhelming feeling that I forgot about something really important. You know what I mean, the kind of feeling you get when you forget your wallet in Wendy's, when you just missed Sonic's happy hour deal, or when you realize you just missed hashbrown-selling hours at McDonalds. So I would feel so discouraged when I failed to embrace His presence especially in the times when I was nervous, frustrated, annoyed, or confused.
I've seen and felt much pain lately. The kind of pain that saturates hearts with sorrow. The kind of pain that makes puddles in eyes, and washes mascara down faces. It threatens comfort, and ruins relationships. I've seen and felt much pain lately.
Yet I think half the sadness is this: We forget. I'm not saying that once we remember Jesus' presence the skies will clear, but we fail to remember how beautifully he restores, and how much he adores, when everything gets ruined in the rain.
May you embrace His presence in the rain.

This
is
what
my
cake
would
look
like.

steak fajita

And there was this one time when a prayer needed to be said. They wanted something short and something sweet. And there was this one person that was asked to say this prayer, but she had much hesitation because she did not prepare. Where did we get this idea, this idea that we have to present ourselves to God in such eloquent and thought-out words? Too often we forget how well God has searched us, and how well He knows us. So why do we still try to hide behind such words?

we all break the same.

On Sunday night, the night after we got back, Christie and I just walked around town, like they do in Thoreau. We walked around with eyes that had a hard time justifying the things we saw. Blessed to live in Hinsdale, but wondered what it would be like to grow up in a normal town. As we walked around town, like they do in Thoreau, we talked about the differences, both tangible and intangible.
The differences. On the bus ride home from Thoreau, while it was still fresh in our minds, we were to brainstorm how we would bring what we learned in Thoreau back home. Surely we would forget about Thoreau once we got immersed in Hinsdale again, right? A town so different from Thoreau that they shouldn't even be compared. As we walked around town, like they do in Thoreau, we talked about the differences.Yet I think all this talk of differences blinds us from seeing the many similarities.
I'm reminded of the many stories that were shared during our time with the kids. I don't remember many of the stories, but I do remember stories that had something to do with their future. I'm reminded of the kids that thought their future would eventually lead to jail or prison. I can't forget the stories that screamed, "Well I guess this is it", stories from heavy hearts with low expectations.
And this is what I see:
The idea that we will be nothing greater. That we have reached our peak.
The similarity is this:
Whether in Thoreau or Hinsdale, there seem to be hearts so chained to these cultures that they don't even dare to dream. The people of Thoreau don't dare to dream because of the notion that they will ultimately be nothing greater than a drunk Native American living on a reservation or in a prison. As shocking as it may seem, I see the same thing in Hinsdale, except this time, the lives just get patterned. Hinsdale doesn't dare to dream because they seemed to have already attained The American Dream. So what happens is that we become people that find ourselves saying, "well I guess this is it". People that think they have reached their peak, their potential, and stop expecting great things from their lives.
Do you see what I'm saying?
I feel like people get so wrapped up in the pattern of their culture that they fail to see the dreams that God has woven into their very own hearts.
This, my friends, cannot be.

Charm City Cakes makes cool cakes. If I were to get a cake from there, I would want them to make a steak cake. But with the minimum price being $1,000 , I don't think I'll be having a steak cake anytime soon.It makes sense that $1,000 is too much to spend on a cake, for something that you will eat and be done with. I think most would agree. We can say that its foolish to spend that much money on a cake, but I think we can say the same for most of the other things we buy. Charm City Cakes makes cool cakes, but for now I think I'll make my own steak cake.

And do you know what I think? I think you have so much potential to do so much good. Don't be chained to the low expectations already set for you. Take that idea, that idea that you are incapable of making a difference, and shatter it into a million different pieces. Because this is what I see: I see hearts saturated with big dreams and desires to be something greater. And do you know what else I see? I see a heavenly Father ready to take you on an adventure, one thats so much bigger and better than anything you could ever have imagined.
And do you know what I think? I think you have so much potential to do so much good. Thoreau, you have so much potential to do so much good.