I struggle to be consistent in my faith.  

I have so much going on, often my relationship with Christ gets put on the back burner.  This is when I think of Martha.

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42

Here we have Martha.  Martha cares deeply and wants to meet every single one of Jesus needs.  She had opened her home to Jesus and was doing her best to make sure Jesus was taken care of.  Martha was doing something that seemed very necessary, something good even.  Martha was doing what I so often catch myself doing.  Martha was distracted with so many good things, that she was not paying attention to the best thing. 

Then, on the other hand, we have Mary.  Mary appears to be shirking away from her duties as co-hostess, but Jesus thinks differently.  Mary has made the decision to spend time at the feet of Jesus, and according to to Him, she has chosen the better thing to do (and, let’s be honest, Jesus is right. He’s always right).  

So, looking into my life, I can see how apparent it is when I am not spending time soaking in the words of Christ.  My relationship with God is affected, my relationship with others is affected, and I even feel differently towards myself.  Spending time at the feet of Jesus is not something that we can function properly without.  We were created to be in relationship with the Creator, whether we have other good things to be doing or not.  There are a lot of good things in this world, but there is one truly great thing, and that is being in relationship with our Maker.  

I have been back living at my house with my family since Thursday.  I got back at about 7 in the evening, sat down on the couch, and watched t.v. with my little brother.  As we sat and had our normal small-talk conversation about fantasy football, I was on the brink of tears.  I was finally home.  Things were finally slowing down.

For the past four months, stressed has been my default setting.  Between classes, work, people, and other various responsibilities, I have had an immense amount of trouble trying to recharge my battery. I have never felt more overwhelmed in my life.  Being around family and old friends has really helped me realize how blessed I am.  Even though family can be the people who wear on us the most, they are also in most cases the people who care the most.  It truly is a great feeling to love people and to be loved by people.  That is the when I feel at home.  

IT IS GOOD TO BE HOME.

Blessings!

MC

Last week was Thanksgiving week.  I know that now 99.9% of our country’s population has moved on from that time of thankfulness and has moved on to the season of capitalistic materialism, but last week I was journaling and jotted down some people that I am thankful for. Here it is:

November 26,

Who I am thankful for and why:

Mom – for being a saint. for coming up with quick-stitch fixes to my problems (sometimes literally). for being an infinite source of wisdom. for not expecting perfection. for listening to me talk for days about nothing important. for putting up with me when I passionately disagree with you. for having my back, and forever being in my corner.

Dad – for being an example. for showing me how to love my future wife and family. for working at Lipscomb (75% discount BABYYYY!!!). for instructing me, not just reprimanding me. for giving me advice, even when I didn’t ask for it. for putting up with me when I vocally disagree with you. for folding your arms and shaking your head when I do something stupid. for showing me how to serve God.

Jonathan – for being my older brother, for setting a good example. for driving me around before I could. for not telling mom & dad. for reassuring me when I’m right. for telling me when I’m wrong. for never killing me or Joel. for including me in front of your friends. for helping me pick on Joel.

Joel – for being my little brother. for putting up with my teasing. for not being help when I broke the fish tank. for not telling mom & dad. for wanting to hang out with me. for showing me how stupid I was when I was your age. for doing math in your head that proves me wrong in public (NOT). for helping me annoy Jonathan.

Mimi & Papa – for raising my dad. for showing me what it looks like to love your spouse for a long time. for liking my mom. for my love of nuts. for Joel’s love of the Astros (that is still awful fun to joke about). for encouraging me to succeed. for wanting to be in my company. for overfeeding me. for loving unconditionally.

Grandma – for raising my mom. for your sayings of practical wisdom. for your patience. for encouraging me. for telling me that I give the best hugs. for giving the best hugs. for playing Rook with us. for liking my dad. for caring so deeply about others. for telling stories. for teaching my mom how to cook.

Friends – for picking me up when I’m down. for motivating me to be better. for keeping me from getting big-headed. for occasionally reading my writing. for putting up with my shenanigans. for involving me in your shenanigans. for still being my friend after I use the word “shenanigan.” for keeping me sane. for the remarks about my hairline. for nostalgia. for memories to feel nostalgic about. for opportunities to make more friends. for dealing with my teasing. for teasing me back. for all of the smack talk. for all of the quotable moments. for moments that will never be quoted. for quality time. for hugs, handshakes, and fist pounds (yes, I still occasionally dish out the knuckle touch). for hanging out with me even after I use the phrase “knuckle touch.” for dreaming with me. for competing with and against me.  for laughing. for seeing how the world is, and working to make it better.

The Church – for faith. for always welcoming me. for giving me opportunities. for constant encouragement. for reaching out. for walking alongside me. for supporting me on all my endeavors. for showing me what community looks like. for investing in me. for serving the Lord, and teaching me to do so.  for supporting the cause of Christ to the ends of the earth.

*some portions have been added later.

Blessings.

MC

Ran into a friend on campus Tuesday who was freaking out about finals.  Talking about all the studying and other things that needed to be done.  So I decided that I would post some tips about how to get through the week without any ulcers or anxiety attacks.

Here are all of my tips on how to survive Finals Week:

1. Don’t Freak Out.  At some point in the next week, every student taking finals will be tempted to punch a wall, intentionally sleep through a final, or kick a cat (not that no one is tempted to do that one already).  None of these things will benefit you in any way.

2. Do Something Fun.  Studying is a drag, and if you spend all of your time studying, finals week will be terrible for you.  Take some time away from your books and hang out with your friends.  After this week you probably won’t see them for a while, so do something fun.

3. Manage Your Time.  Yeah I’m not good at this one.  If you have nothing to do, do something that will help you do better on your finals.  The more you study when there’s nothing to do, the less you have to miss out on in order to to study.

4. Prioritize Your Classes.  You likely do not have the same grade in all of your classes.  Some classes you really need an A in to keep your scholarship, while others you can mess up a little and still get a solid grade.  Figure out which classes need more attention than others, and knock those out of the park.  Don’t sweat the 88% in the class that you have a 95% in.

5. Get Enough Sleep.  Even if you have to stop studying at night to get up the next morning and study before the final, get some sleep before the final.  If you feel yourself dozing off while studying, go to sleep for a bit.  Wake up and finish studying.  You will learn way more while alert than otherwise.

Yes, these are all of my Finals Week tips.  There are only five.  I am not really a wealth of knowledge on the subject, but I can say that when I abide by these, I do better.  It works 60% of the time EVERYTIME.

Good Luck, and Happy Finals Week Everyone!

Take it Easy!

-MC

I got to spend this past weekend at NYWC (National Youth Workers Conference).

IT WAS AWESOME.

Basically it’s a bunch of Youth Workers from all over the country getting together in one place to worship God, encourage each other, and hear some fantastic speakers (Mark Batterson, Rachel Held Evans, Bob Goff, Shane Claiborne, and Pete Wilson all spoke).  It is always great to hear about what God is doing in His church and praying about what He will do.  It was such a blessing to get to worship with people from all over the place who have such a heart for both Christ and teenagers.

Here are some of the quotes from the weekend that I was quick enough to write down:

“We want more revelation, God wants more obedience.” -Mark Batterson

“GET OFF YO’ BUTT! GO CHANGE THE WORLD!!!” -Harvey Carey

“We (Christians) want to be known by what we’re for, not what we’re against.” -Rachel Held Evans

“Want to know your calling? Do less of what you stink at.” -Bob Goff

“Jesus didn’t hold everyone accountable, He held them close.” -Bob Goff

“God doesn’t pass us notes, He passes us people.” -Bob Goff

“If we keep telling people that they’re thirsty when they’re not, they won’t know where to go when they are.” -Bob Goff

As you can probably tell, I really wrote down a lot of what Bob Goff said. #LoveDoes #AMEN

I left the convention center on Sunday feeling renewed and energized in Christ Jesus.  God is so good! And He’s got me.  I pray that I will never lose sight of that fact.  One of the great things about being a follower of Christ is that I get to wake up every morning knowing that what happened yesterday doesn’t matter, that God has got today under control, and that tomorrow can worry about itself.

“WE ARE YOUR CHURCH, WE PRAY REVIVE THIS EARTH!” -Rend Collective Experiment

TAKE IT EASY!

-MC

P.S.: If you want to see some serious white boy dancing, check out the link at the bottom.  This is me prior to the final session on Sunday afternoon.  Video Creds go to  my dude Devin Clark (@DevPClark on that twitter).

I consider myself a creative person.

There really is something about creating something that is from my own thoughts and imagination that I find to be incredible.

That’s why I love to write.

For me, writing is how I express myself.  My thoughts flowing from my head through my hands and down onto a piece of paper or onto a screen pumps me up.  Reading something that is completely mine, that came from my own head, is so cool whether anyone ever reads it or not.  Taking a blank sheet or screen and filling it up with whatever I want gets me excited.  There really is something beautiful about being able to take something that has absolutely no prompt, no expectations, no grade coming in the future, and do whatever I want to do with it.  Having complete control over the outcome of something gives me comfort.  I am the only person who can make it awesome or can screw it all up, and I know that going in.  It’s exciting, plus if I do screw up, nobody will ever find out, and I can start over or throw it out.  It doesn’t matter.  It’s mine, and I like it like that.

I don’t want to give anyone else the pen (or the keyboard).

Isn’t that the problem with God sometimes?

God wants the pen.  He wants to write our story.

We come before God with a lot of stuff already written on the page of our life.  Stuff we’re not always proud of.  Stuff that keeps showing up.  Stuff that is holding back the story that we are trying to write.  The beautiful thing is that God doesn’t care.  God can crumple up that piece of paper and start over.  It’s God’s story after all.  We are all God’s creation.  He created us.  We are in His image.  We are God’s paper, and when we let Him, He is going to write some awesome stories with us.  We are a blank sheet before God, and He can do whatever He wants with us, we just have to surrender the pen.

Let’s let Him write our stories, and some crazy awesome stories they will be.

God is Good!

-MC