It is days like today when I have trouble running to the arms of Christ.  

Waking up this morning and reading of the sudden death of a friend of mine was not a great way to start my day.  I KNOW THAT GOD IS GOOD, but how can this happen?  I have come to believe that God does not make bad things happen, but that He works for our good in all things.  God is not responsible for the freak things of this world, but on days like today, I have trouble relentlessly running to God.  Satan uses times like this to his advantage.  I am having to run from the thought that, “Something bad happened today, so God owes me today.”  We cannot close ourselves off from God when life turns terrible.  If nothing else, we need God because He will sustain us.  The world has nothing to offer in trying times.  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:19: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.”  The world says, “Why follow a God who cannot protect you from the hardships of this world?”  God promises that He will not leave.  God promises comfort and relief in times of grief.   We are called to love God and His people through the good times and the bad times. People who keep their joy even in times of trouble amaze the people around them.

My experience with God is that what He says is true.  In good times, I see the work of God all around me.  In times like this, it can be so easy not to look.  When everything goes wrong, we want answers.  We tell ourselves that the more we know, the better off we will be.  God does not offer many answers, but He does offer refuge.  My life experience shows me that God is good.  In times of trouble, God does not change.  God is unchanging; God is faithful.  Though finding the courage to seek God’s presence during the middle of a storm can be tough, finding it takes a load off our shoulders.  God is there, and He will be there.  HE IS AT THE DOOR; WE MUST LET HIM IN.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”         -Psalm 34:8, NIV

Well it has been a busy two weeks since my last post.  My classes are off and running, and I have just been trying to keep up.  There is just something about this campus that I have fallen in love with.  Choosing to come here to Lipscomb for school has been one of the best decisions that I have ever made.  The people that I have met here whether they be peers, professors, or just random people around campus have impacted my life in a huge way.  I don’t really have much time to myself, but I prefer it that way.  The sense of community that I have encountered on so many levels has encouraged me and also taught me how to be an encouragement to others.

Being here at Lipscomb, I have seen God move on this campus.  Not always in chapel that everyone is required to attend, not always in the Bible classes everyone is required to take, but in the general feel of the campus.  God is in the hearts of so many of my fellow students, and the love that they show rubs off on the people around them.  After living here on campus, I don’t think I will ever want to live by myself.  It is still very possible to not do anything and be by yourself, but there is always something to do, or someone to be with.  I am so glad to be back here where I feel right.  I had a great summer, but getting back in the swing of things here on campus is something that I truly do love.

It really has been a great summer.  Twenty-four hours from now, this summer will be officially over for me.  I have learned a lot this summer, both practical and impractical, both spiritual and unspiritual, but they all count for something, right?  Yeah, probably not, but regardless I feel much more knowledgeable in some areas.  So since summer is ending, I thought I would make a list of 10 things that I have learned this summer.  Here they are:

1. I can now get sunburned on the top of my head, so I should now wear a hat if I’m going to be out in the sun for a while.  I learned that the hard way. #thinningiswinning

2. LeBron IS the best basketball player of his generation.  This is not opinion, it’s straight fact.  I’m dropping knowledge right now, listen up.

3. Doing things costs $$$$$. 

4. It is possible to get payed below minimum wage if you are employed by the school that you are enrolled in.

5. I still cannot grow a sufficient amount of facial hair.

6. Everyone looks up to someone, and everyone is looked up to by someone.

7. God is faithful even when I am not.

8. God is always throwing us opportunities to serve Him and to serve others, and we need to be looking.

9. God is always working. ALWAYS!

10. “Christ is all, and is in all.” – Colossians 3:11

It’s been a really great summer, but I am ready to get back to school.  Cannot wait to see where God takes me in the next few months.

Till Next Time,

Michael Clinger

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To him be the glory both now and forever!  Amen”  2 Peter 3:18

What a week it was at Fall Creek Falls!  On Friday night in the pouring rain 5 campers accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!  It rained all week long, but even in all the wetness and the collective stink of the camp, God was moving.  It was amazing sitting in the B-lodge Friday night with all the rain pouring down from the sky as campers and staff poured out their hearts to each other.  The Spirit of God was most definitely evident in the camp Friday night.

I was happy to be able to serve as a counselor to six 7th and 8th grade guys.  They made me laugh constantly, and even though my cot ended up in the rafters friday night, I was blessed to get to hang out with them for a week.  It was awesome watching how other staff members went way out of their way to be a blessing in the lives of the campers.  The staff sacrifices so much to make sure that things go smoothly and preparation begins months and even years in advance.  God amazes me in the way He makes things fall together so that for one week out of the year so many people can be blessed by their experiences with each other and with God.  People take off work and use a lot of vacation time to spend a week outdoors with a bunch of smelly, dirty-faced, sometimes annoying, 4-11th graders.  The older I get, the more I realize why people would give up so much to do this.  People make sacrifices to enrich the lives of others and have a fun time doing it, just like other people have done for them.  They are paying it forward.  God has done and will continue to do incredible things through the Donelson Church Camp and many other camps like it because people love the Lord and are willing to give their time, money, and energy to serve Him.

The theme of this year’s camp was “Grow Up.”  One of the most memorable lessons for me this week was Russ’s lesson about having a “Big Faith.”  This hit me harder than any of the other lessons because this, more often than not, is where I stumble in my walk with Christ.  Trusting in God for everything in my life is a struggle for me at times.  So often I look to Him as a last resort.  When I have reached the end of my rope and reach the sickening realization that there is no way I can do this by myself, that is when I look to God for help.  God does not want that for me.  When I am inconsistent about trusting in God, my life is a roller coaster with tremendous highs and some really staggering lows.  I believe that one thing God is calling me to repeatedly is a life where I wake up in the morning with my eyes fixed on him and go to bed with my eyes fixed on him.  This reminds me of a piece of scripture that has become incredibly reassuring to me in times of trouble.  The scripture reads:

“Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even YOUTHS GROW TIRED AND WEARY,
and YOUNG MEN STUMBLE AND FALL;
BUT THOSE WHO HOPE IN THE LORD
WILL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:28-31

We all fail, but we have to put our hope and trust in the Lord because He is the only thing in this world that will never let us down.  I hope and pray that God will give me a consistent and unshakeable faith because I always need more strength and He is the only one capable of providing it.

Blessings!

P.S. To read more and see more about the awesome week that was, go check out the camp blog at http://www.donelsoncamp2013.blogspot.com/

Wow. Three weeks ago today, I departed Nashville for a two-week journey to Ukraine.  A year ago, if someone had asked me what I would be doing this summer, I probably would have told them a lot of awesome sounding things and would have likely said “I can’t wait to see what God is going to do,” but going to the other side of the world was not in the plan.  The only explanation that I have for my experience in Ukraine is God.  God put it on my heart,  God put it onto people’s hearts to pay money out of their own pockets and bank accounts, and God organized it so that the rest of the team could all end up at the right place at the right time, so that He could do something awesome.  God made it possible for me, a goofy, 19-year-old screw-up, to share my faith on another continent where I don’t even speak the same language as the people who live there.  I went in thinking that God would do something great, but those two weeks far exceeded my expectations in every way.  

Honestly, I had no idea what I was getting into.  I really didn’t know two of our American team members at all going in, and I had no idea what the mentors we were going to be working with were like.  It was pretty great being able to become fast friends with the rest of the team, and I will not soon forget my experiences with them.  After our arrival, we were informed that about 75% of the kids were going to camp so we were going to be left with about a quarter of what we thought we were going to have.  This was discouraging to say the least, but God would soon show us that He can work with any number.  The smaller amount of kids was an advantage in some ways because there was almost a one-to-one ratio of our team to the children.  The amount of attention each one received was greatly increased and God was working in the circumstances.  I don’t believe God controls every circumstance, but one thing God showed me is that He is working for the good in every circumstance.  When life gives God water, He makes wine.

I kept a journal during the two weeks, and writing about my experiences and how God was working in those really helped see the glory of God.  Here is an excerpt from my journal one night:

“God has certainly been working on me this week. I have experienced His presence in so many ways. I came here with so many expectations, and so many hopes of what it would be like, and nearly all of those have fallen through. God has shown me that He doesn’t follow an itinerary. I so often try and see where I can fit God into my planner for the day, but He should be my planner!”

-June 14th. 9:37 pm

I was so excited to see the work that God is doing over there.  So many times my ego leads me to believe that I take God’s work here or there, but the truth is that God is already there, and He is at work, but He does give me the opportunity to live in his glory, and to join in the people already at work in the Kingdom.

God has blessed me so richly with this experience.  I believe that sometimes we end up in places and situations that we would never expect to be in so that God can transform us into people that we would never become otherwise.  God is always at work in our hearts and in the world around us.  I cherish what God has done and is doing in my heart, and hope and pray that He will continue to mold me, so that I will live in Him all of my days.

“CHRIST IS ALL, AND IS IN ALL”    (Col. 3:11b NIV)

“Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
    how I praise you!”

-Psalm 63:3 (NLT)

Wow! God is good. 

Tonight I am reminded of how blessed I am.  I am writing this from a hotel room in Ohio.  My parents, my brother Joel, and I are up here visiting my mom’s family.  My older brother Jonathan was in town this past weekend, and more and more I am realizing how great my friends are.  In five days I am leaving for a two-week trip to hang out with orphans in Ukraine, and God is blessing me in so many more ways that cannot even be seen right now.

Even in all that God has blessed me with, I still find ways to screw up.  Sometimes I feel like I just can’t do anything right.  The only thing that knocks me down and blows me away every single day is God’s grace.  He comes and finds me in my failures (and believe me there are a lot).  God’s ability to work in my failings shocks me.  Believe it or not, I used to think that I didn’t have any problems.  I had my life “under control,” but in the past year, I haven’t been in control of anything.  Plans have changed, people have died, and I have tripped up more times than I can count.  There is one thing that has stayed the same: God.  God rules the world, and He is in my corner!  No matter how far I run, God is already two steps ahead of me ready to reveal His glory!  How great a feeling it is to know that I worship a God who pursues me!  He is working for my good, even when I lock the doors and try to keep him out. There is nowhere that I can run where God doesn’t see.  God’s invitation will always find me, wherever I am.

And because of His unfailing love, I cannot help but praise Him!  My heart longs to sing praise to the God who never gives up and refuses to stop pursuing me.

“Lord, may my lips never stop praising You!

Let me not be defined by my failures

but by the triumph that is in You!”

Tonight during the Heat/Pacers game, someone (to be left unnamed) said to me (and I quote), “Paul George is a top 10 NBA player.” ….. WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?  NO WAY.

(Gotta Love that Shirt Though!)

My Top 10 NBA Players: (starting from #10 and working to #1)

10. Rajon Rondo

9. Dwight Howard

8. Russell Westbrook

7. Marc Gasol (had to give the DPOTY some props)

6. Chris Paul

5. Tony Parker

4. Kobe Bryant

3. Carmelo Anthony

2. Kevin Durant

1. LeBron James (Yes, I did watch the end of tonight’s game, and yes, he is still #1)

Notables still ahead of George (not in order): 

• Zach Randolph
• Kyrie Irving
• Stephen Curry
• Roy Hibbert (yeah, not even the best on his own team in my opinion)
• James Harden

Cannot go without a Derrick Rose mention, who I’ll go ahead and assume will be a man on a mission next season.

I would say Andrew Bynum, but nahh.

So according to my analysis, Paul George could MAYBE fit into the top 20, maybe.

So there it is, you will likely disagree with a couple of my top 10 at least.  I would love to get your feedback so please comment if you have something to say!  Hit me up!

PEACE OUT HOMBRES!!!