I'm Jared.

If is one of my favorite poems.  That is all.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

–Rudyard Kipling

Heather and I have decided to sponsor a child through Compassion International.  As such, we just received our info packet containing much of what we would need to know about this young child in order to begin showing love from the other side of the planet.

Here is life-change in paper form:

I so look forward to being a part of this child’s life, as well as receiving more pictures of him.*

The ultimate goal is to see this commitment through, and as Little Biplay turns into Big Biplay, to have been a consistent part of his journey.  Now, what that looks like exactly will take much prayer and meditation in order to comprehend.

Jar

*With less obvious terror in his face.

The apparent trendy, controversial topic in churches these days happens to be a simple yet complicated three letter word: sex.

I agree wholeheartedly that the Church has allowed culture and society to dictate what sex means to many people, including myself, and there is a definite need to redeem the idea of “getting down” to be considered as something amazingly spiritual and pleasurable between two married people.  I think it’s great that churches are now breaking taboo and speaking out on the wonders of physical intimacy.  If we could break apart our perceptions of this act of love from what we’re being told it is, there surely would be less heartache in marriages.  Of course, we must remember that sex itself should not be an end all goal in a marriage, but therein lies my point:

Do you think we’re starting to swing the pendulum too far in the opposite direction by focusing so much of our attention on an already culturally gluttonous topic?

In my opinion, I’m not entirely sure.  But I am starting to wonder.

Then again, this is coming from a 25 year old, unwed male.  The perspective might be a little skewed.

It’s true.

No matter what facet of ministry you are involved in, there is an element of inconvenience that will at one point ruin your day.  That’s the price we pay when engaging in ministry.

The problem for many, especially myself, is that we haven’t mastered the art of being inconvenienced. 

I can easily become frustrated, angered, and annoyed with changes in plans.  While I’m more a “fly by the seat of your pants” kind of guy, I still find great comfort and ease when there is a routine or expectatant action.  When obstacles come in the way of that routine or expectation, it’s difficult for me to relent on the things I want. 

That’s detrimental to ministry.

So if you’re working with squatter parks in Africa, or youth groups in Manchester, Indiana, be ready for the inconvenience of it all.  It’s going to happen.  Trust me. 

The real test is how we respond to it. 

Jar

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