Life

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."
--Helen Keller

A Child's Excitement

“Every child has in him an aching void for excitement and if we don’t fill it with something which is exciting, interesting and good for him, he will fill it with something which exciting and interesting and which isn’t good for him.”
--President Theodore Roosevelt

Risk & Faith

As I was reading an article in Psychology Today it sparked an interesting notion. For risk seeking individuals, specifically Christians, is it possible that because of their faith in God they are more apt to seek more risk? As a Christian, and one who thrives off opportunities to take risks, am I more willing to take risks because of my faith? I have started reading more about this lately trying to find answers in Scripture and have noticed a few important things. Christians (as noted in the Bible–specifically the Apostles and "saints" such as Paul) have been called to be risk takers to varying degrees. I know there are different personalities out there and that this goes against some of their wiring, but I believe that God has called ALL Christians to take some sort of risk, some more than others.

As Christians, do we not take risks every day by just professing our faith in Christ Jesus? This is the lowest version of risk in a Christian's life. When I think about "real" risk takers--not the complacent Christians who practice what they preach one day a week and the other 6 live their safe, protected lives in their lovely homes driving their lovely $50k SUV complaining about their neighbors--I think about King David, and Paul, and Job, and Moses, and Jesus. Are we like this? Am I like this? No. Not nearly. I am not judging those Christians that are the complacent type as I am no better. I am simply making a point. Should we not desire some level of risk? What about those of us who desire extreme risk (according to our culture standards) and seek it out?

An example that might illustrate this is the enterpreneuer type personalities. I believe I am one of those. Years ago I was laid off my job because of the downturn related to 9/11. I took this as a new opportunity and truely felt God was opening a door for me, not taking something away. So I went fulltime into my company and built it to a sustainable business 2 years later. It was then that God open yet another door. The opportunity to work in a Christian environment educating young Christians using the gifts God enabled me with. So without hesitation, I closed the doors on my business and moved on (keep in mind this business was bringing in double what I was offered to leave it). Is this risk taking? Or is this simply a reliance on God? Our culture would say "risk taking", but I don't see it that way. God told me to move on and I did. And He has blessed me immensely for it.

So this is what I am getting at: are Christian risk takers simply following God's command and leading or are we just doing it for the thrill? I think both - I get a thrill out it! God wired us all in different ways. He knows our path before we get there and knows that our "wiring" will help us go there if we just listen to Him. Instead of risk, a term I would use to describe this behavior is "nexting". This term was coined by Edgar H. Schein, a professor of management and organizational psychology expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He explains that nexting is the positive rationale aimed at finding solutions to "problems" in organizational settings. In other words, it is a way to approach a problem and present positive or alternative ways to get to a certain result, looking at the "next" alternative. It's never stopping at an "OK" answer and approaching the problem at a new angle, always pushing for more and better. Should we not be this way in life? Striving for better? Risking much to achieve more? Not to HAVE more, but to ACHIEVE more? Not all of us would want this. But without risk (or nexting) life is just too boring. What would Jesus do? What would He want us to do? Questions worth consideration...

Intersting article about similar: Cliff Jumping

Matter of Fact...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

God has a plan for your life. He brought you into this world to fulfill that plan. It is the best plan that anyone could ever make for you. It is a plan that will bring Him the greatest glory and you the greatest good. From the beginning of this calendar year until its end, God is working out His plan.

As you follow God's plan for your life, you do so by faith. It is important to remember that He is the Guide and you are the follower. He does not need to bring you into His planning room as a consultant to help Him decide what is best for your life. God has called you to trust Him and to take the next step of obedience according to His will. God has said, "I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16 NKJV

A moment captured: Alex Castro

The following was written by Luis Fernando Herrera of Christian Surfers of Jaco, Costa Rica. The purpose for posting this on my blog site is twofold. One, I want to honor Alex and the Lord by sharing this story with you. Two, I want to remember this man for who he was and what he stood for. He is what we all should be and should strive for every day.

That they may see and know, and consider and understand together, That the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Isaiah 41:20

Fifteen minutes before the most enduring and colorful rays of light disappeared into the western skyline, the children of the Lord gathered together in one large circle floating on their surfboards and held fast by each other's hands, deep over the waters of Jaco. The people of the village united, with the same heart and in singleness of mind; to honor and give praise for the life of Alexander Castro Guevara, a true soldier of the Lord and a servant of the Most High God. On the 30th day of April 2006, our God promoted Alex to serve directly underneath him and alongside his fellow servants the angels, and his soul rested with his fathers. Unfortunately, those of us who are left suffered a great loss at the fall of one of our strongest and most beloved soldiers, and our eternal brother through Christ. Therefore on the holy Sabbath, the 6th day of May 2006, all those to whom Alex had ministered to through his unfailing love showed up to pay him vows of honor and respect, and to give him one last goodbye-kiss as a community. He was severely mourned.

Alex walked over the face of earth for twenty-nine years and did what was right in the sight of the Lord; he was careful to obey his command and to do according to what he had been entrusted as he strayed neither to the right nor to the left, but instead dedicated his life to completing the mission. This year the Lord welcomed him home with a homecoming that a father has for his son, or that a king prepares for a hero returning home from the battlefield. He served his brothers diligently; with pureness of heart, abundance of love and a generosity that is scarcely to be found anymore. He was generous with his time, with his countless gifts and talents, his wisdom and teachings, and above all, with his love. The following scripture has been heavy on my mind, as it is the voice of the Lord describing Alex and the joy he has found in him, for he is proud to call him his own.

Behold! My servant whom I uphold, my elect one in whom my soul delights! I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise his voice, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.
Isaiah 42:1-3

The humility and grace with which Alex lived his life is something that is not of this world. He was a true scholar and a gentleman, a disciple as well as a teacher, a lover and a strong fighter. He fought for the rights of his little ones, he fought for them to have a place to learn, he fought for them to have a place to skate, he made sure that there was always some sort of surf tournament for the kids to look forward to, and he fought to show them true love.

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment; that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. These things I command you, that you love one another.
John 15:11-13,17

Brought down to the most basic of principles, I believe with the deepest conviction my of my heart, that this is the message Alex Castro left behind for us. These words are his voice, the voice of the Holy Spirit that so naturally flowed throughout the miracle that was Alex's life. He lived these words, and he departed with them as his theme song, as the resounding chorus that defined his life to those of us who were blessed enough to know him. What I most loved about Alex's teachings was the simplicity of his message he made sure to keep it clear and simple because his greatest concern was that no one would be left behind.

I am now ashamed to admit that the pride of my heart once criticized Alex for his simplistic approach to teaching, the casual clarity of his loving stories and examples. I believed that teaching the word of God was something to be feared, and that we should use the most knowledge, theory, and scripture possible in order to make our case known. Boy did Alex prove me wrong. He's taught me that the love of God is something that you wear on your face, something that is heard in your voice, and that is seen in your actions. He taught me that the message of the Lord is simple, and indeed it is something that even the youngest and least experienced can reveal to a seasoned and educated adult. It doesn't take knowing the Bible inside and out, it is not about having all the answers. It is simply about having complete humility of heart, and about living with the love that can only come from someone who has the peace of enjoying an intimate relationship with our Creator.

God is mighty, but does not despise men; He is mighty, and firm in his purpose. He does not take his eyes off the righteous; He enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.
Job 36:5,7

I have been with you wherever you have gone, And I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth.
2 Samuel 7:9

Alexander Castro Guevara surely is a good name, a great name—a name like the greatest men of the earth. Now I understand what Solomon the Wise was referring to when he stated, "A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth."
(Ecclesiastes 7:1).

Upon receiving the news of Alex's death due to severe head trauma, caused by an accident in which a car knocked him off his bicycle on Sunday night the 23rd of April, I was extremely resentful towards God. "Why", I thought, "Of all people, why take Alex; how can this be?" Alex was a founding member of Christian Surfers: Costa Rica. Three years ago he came into town with nothing more than a box-full of his belongings, a passion for Christ and the goodwill and faith to bring the Good News to a town that desperately needed it, as it has been described in a recent newspaper article as "The Next Sodom."

He was fluently bilingual, a talented surfer and orator, and just an extremely cool and humble guy. He welcomed me into the group as I was, and always had a word of encouragement that brought true peace into my life. He was the glue that united teenage surfers with business professionals, drug addicts with clean and healthy people, Costa Rican locals, with English-speaking foreigners, the lost with the found. We all came for him. Deep down I believe that somewhere inside, we were all intuitively going to the Wednesday night Bible studies just to spend some time with Alex and enjoy the company of the Lord.

He spent seven days in deep sleep on a hospital bed, and at seven o'clock on Sunday (the last day of April) he was taken up before the presence of the Lord. Resentment. Hurt. Crying. Confusion. Anger. Fear. More resentment. Mourning. Confidently I believe to be summing up just some of the most powerful emotions that we have been grappling with as a community, and most certainly on a personal level, due to the transpiring events. Our only consolation comes from knowing where Alex dwells at this moment, and the fact that not a single leaf shakes on a tree apart from the will of God. The purpose behind this tragic event will be unfolding for years to come, the ultimate will of the Lord will be fulfilled, and we can rest assured that Alex Castro's life and death will have never been in vain. He was pure, honest: a person of the highest integrity and transparency in his living. God had prepared him well for what was about to happen to him, because in the last few weeks of his life, Alex Castro was running around and serving every one of us, in any way he could.

On Thursday night during Easter week, I saw Alex and Coky (his best friend and fellow missionary) exalted with a 10 minute primetime news special highlighting the Christian Surfers Organization and the amazing work these guys had accomplished during such a short period of time in Jaco. The week before that I had the pleasure of sitting before Alex with a bunch of our disciples as him, Coky and Rebecca read the sacred words of the Bible to us and in front of the National Surf Circuit contest booth, an event that Alex had been asked to host and narrate. This only gives you a slight peak into the type of person he was, and just how beloved he had become in the last short years of his precious life. The very last time that I had the honor of serving alongside him as his English interpreter, he took the time to sit me down after the study and say his goodbye. He didn't say it directly, but the mood and tone of our conversation confirmed it. I remember thinking, "Wait a minute Alex, why does it feel like you are bidding farewell"? All I can say is that somehow, he knew.

Promptly at four o'clock on Saturday we held a small and intimate memorial service for our brother and pastor on the very property that he had worked so hard to build. The Lord showed compassion on us and provided a dark and gloomy afternoon full of heavy clouds and rain showers. And the people showed up. The place was packed! Our little palapa-style meeting place had an overflow going all the way back past the driveway and practically out into the street. With a mixed spirit of praise and weeping, our small community endured the weather and gladly attended his farewell ceremony, packed in like a bunch of wet sardines (just the way Alex would have liked it).

A police unit slowly led the way as an assembly of about two hundred souls walked somberly behind it on course to the beach. This is the place where his ashes belong, on the shores of Jaco. For long before his ashes were spilled, he had poured out the whole of his heart and soul all over the people of this beautiful town. All who had taken their surfboards with them laid them down on the beach in the form of a giant cross, extending about fifty feet in one direction and about eighty in the other. It was now late evening, and the sky was of a pinkish-blue hue, with the storm clouds now dry yet looming in the background. His mother and Coky held his ashes at the center as our large community of surfers and non-surfers, both great and small, held hands and blessed the Lord for Alex, and because we had gathered in his name. It was an impressive sight for all who were present, for we had formed a giant circle all for the glory of the Lord.

Mrs. Guevara then proceeded to distribute his ashes in small plastic baggies to those of his closest friends, and in a loud and pleasant battle cry we all ran in for our surfboards, took hold of our bag and paddled out into the dark and intimidating lineup. It was a day of great swell, yet at the prayer of one of his sons the Almighty stilled the waters, and the ferocious waves of the sea were calmed in order to make way for his people. By this time we were more silhouettes than surfers, warm bodies instead of people, and brothers instead of friends.

We held hands and worshiped the Lord for Alex, and gave glorious praise; for the will of the Lord had been accomplished. In a single motion we tossed his ashes into the middle and the remains of our beloved became one with the ocean indeed, one within all of us. In one of my most memorable teachings from Alex he had us all read, sing aloud and worship together to the sound of a guitar, as in unison we repeated over and over:


Psalm 100

A Psalm. For giving thanks.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; Come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, And we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Luis Fernando Herrera
Christian Surfers / ALO Foundation
Jaco Centro, Costa Rica.
506-826-0589
www.SupportJacoYouth.com

God is in control

From time to time, I can see myself getting ahead of what God has planned. This is commonly referred to in an allegory (or an analogy) of the horse and carriage. "Don't let the carriage in front of the horse." How can the carriage get to where it's supposed to go if the horses do not pull it? I refer to this a lot with my Christian walk and frequently need to give myself a systems check, so to speak. God IS in control, even when we don't think He is. He is in control over the so called "bad" things in our lives as well. Who are we to say that because things "don't go our way" that it is not God's will? In our weakness we are made stronger. It is during these times that God reveals His perfect will for our lives. This has been the case for me these last several months. I have been having a difficult time dealing with pressures of work, school, family, ministry, friends and even sins.... All of these things pull for my attention and take my eyes off the real reason for our existence - to serve God and to do ALL things for His pleasure! He will reward us 100 times more than we could image He would by following what He has planned!

To illustrate this (and as a reminder to myself and hopefully a reference to others) there are three things to remember: God is bigger than all creation; God is bigger than any problem; and God is bigger than our will. First let me give credit where credit is due... much of this was outlined by Larry Grine, lead pastor at Dayspring Fellowship in Keizer, Oregon. But I thought this to be so simple, yet so important to share with others. I mainly want to express the importance of this through my own experiences. I feel like it is stronger testimony to share that with you than to quote Bible versus. However if you would like to look these up for yourselves here is the scripture:
God is bigger than all creation: Psalm 19, 33:9, 103:9; Jeremiah 32:17; Revelation 4:11
God is bigger than any problem: Daniel 6; Psalm 24:8; II Chronicles 32; Luke 18:27
God is bigger than our will: Daniel 3:6,12, 4:35; Psalm 115:3; Job 42:2; II Corinthians 12:11

The topic that hit home with me was the last of God's will is bigger than ours. We can try to live out our own petty desires and not seek where God wants us to be and struggle through life OR we can surrender our will and do what He wants and enjoy our life more than we could EVER imagine.

The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel ch. 3 illustrates this well. For simplicity, let's refer to them as Rach, Shach and Benny (anyone every watch Veggie Tales?). They had made a decision to live their lives for their God no matter what the conciquences. They had been promoted to high positions by the king Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was very powerful and wanted all of the people in the land to worship his idols and, specifically, to bow down to a giant statue. Rach, Shach and Benny would not, of course, so as a punishment Nebuchadnezzar threw them into a fiery furnace. They stated to him that they didn't need to defend their decision knowing that God's will would be done. "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

This struck me for the very first time in a different way. They didn't know that God would keep them from frying! They simply trusted Him to do what His will would be, whether that meant frying to a crisp in the fire or being delivered and protected from harm. They stated to the king, "the God we serve is able to save us from it [the furnace fire]." Note they say He is ABLE. This tells me they were not sure of the outcome, only God would do what was within His will. The story ends by Nebuchadnezzar seeing that they in fact didn't die but were protected from ANY harm to them. As they came out of the furnace Nebuchadnezzar promoted them to royal positions within his kingdom.

God is big, isn't He? Much bigger than you or I and much bigger than we can fathom in our puny little minds. There is no reasoning God, only believing. Just like you believe that when you fly in an airplane that you will get from point A to point B by flying through the air, so we should believe that the creator of this world can do ANYTHING and that we should be humble enough to admit that we can NEVER understand God and His creation but to only trust in Him and follow His will for our lives.

Here are some questions to ponder:
What does the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3 have to teach us about God's power, His will and our submission to him?

What is the difference between "there is nothing my God cannot do" and "there is nothing my God will not do"? Which do you believe? What danger lurks in the thinking behind this distinction?

How will you respond to this message? What new thing does God want you to know about Him and what will you do as a result?

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'.... into the future....

Remember that song? If your under age 30 probably not. It wasn't ever a top song when I was a kid but I just remember it for some reason... And it resonates with me right now. It feels like time IS slipping away. Since my last entry, I have started classes to finish my Bachelor's degree and have found that time isn't as abundant as I once thought it was, even though it seemed sparse then too. There is always that one thing that I keep telling myself I am going to do when I "have the time for it." Yeah, right. If I don't make the time, it won't happen. School work has taken most of my time as of lately. And it ticks me off. I can see the purpose for what I am doing by going back to school, but this has been a hard stretch of a few months and I almost feel as if I want to throw in the towel.

Then I realize what I am doing this all for... It's not for me, because as far as I care I would just keep working along at my job and not give a damn about ever going for my Bachelor's or going back to school at all. I enjoy my job and I feel adequately qualified for it. But something deep down tells me I am doing this for a bigger purpose. I know that there is something bigger planned and that my education will have a factor in deciding this future. God is bigger than me (thankfully) and He knows my purpose. I am following His lead and taking advice from the best education advisor I could ever ask for.

Time. That is what I pray for almost daily. Of course without a ton of time (or even a gram of time) it's been hard to stay focused on God. That is my fault because I haven't made Him the priority as of lately. I have been so immersed in school that I have lost time with Him. I want to change this, so the reason I am writing this blog entry. I want to remember what I am feeling now so I can remind myself later to stay focused. I cannot do this (or anything for that matter) without God. He will guide me the whole way and will show me when to act, to speak, to move, to think, to lead, to follow, to listen and to be still. Being still is perhaps the most valuable of all of these now. I need to hear His voice and act when He whispers. Be still.