How Good is Good Enough- Part II

In my last post, we tested the "I'm a good person, and God is good, therefore I'll go to heaven " theory. If you haven't read that yet, please take a moment now to do so. At the end, it appeared that the theory leaves us with tons of unanswered questions such as, just how much of our lives has to be good (50%, 10% , 90%)?, what benchmark will we use to measure our goodness on a curve (mother theresa?! eek), how do we know how to be a "good" person if our own morals and values are constantly changing over time, and why on earth was Jesus quoted saying that someone would have to be more 'good' than the Pharisees to get to heaven Matthew 5:20 (ie religious leaders of the time whose job it was to follow the 10 commandments and other laws laid down by Moses) YET when Jesus was lying on the cross about to die, he told the prisoner/criminal on a cross next to him "surely you will be with me in paradise" Luke 23:39-42? HUH?! So if being a good person doesn't get you into heaven, then what does? being a bad person? Well the alternative view, which is the view I hold along with 1/3 of the world's population is that FORGIVEN people go to heaven. Forgiveness is made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. It goes something like this.

1. We are all by nature bad people. GASP! yea that's right I said it. All sin is equal, and it takes just one sin (i.e 1 white lie, 1 time when you idolize something other than God, 1 time when you disobeyed your parents) to separate us from God.

2. The wages of sin is death. Yeah that's right, we're completely screwed at this point. It doesn't matter how many good works we do, or how hard we try to earn our way into heaven, it won't work because we are still separated from God by just 1 sin. "All our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isaiah 64:6). BLAST!

3. I'll just atone for my sin by offering up a dead lamb, mmm k? It's true, the Old Testament made it abundantly clear that God can't dispense sin without a sacrifice, and sin required death, which is why God allowed a dead animal to temporarily substitute for the death of the sinner. BUT, the death of the lamb did not permanently erase the guilt associated with the sin, it merely atoned for or covered the sin.

3. Jesus to the rescue! Heyyyooooo. Jesus positioned himself as the once-and-for-all sacrifice for sin--the Lamb of God (get it?!) . He died on the cross once for ALL sin, past present and future. His death on the cross made it possible for anyone to restore their relationship with God and spend eternity in heaven.

4. We now have been given a free gift of eternal life. It wasn't anything we deserved, or earned, hence 'gift'. All it takes to accept this gift is to believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior.

Is this fair?! heck no! it's more than fair. Fairness would be for us to face the consequences of our sins and be eternally separated from God. But no, Jesus loved us so much that he offered us the chance to go to heaven even though we didn't deserve it

How Good is Good Enough- Part I

In a recent survey, 90% of Americans said they believed there is a heaven, while only 30% of Americans said they believed hell is a real place, and of the people that said they believed in hell, almost none of them thought they were going there.

Good People Go to Heaven: There is a good God who lives in a good place reserved for good people. This God goes by many names. He is behind all major world religions. Therefore, all major, and possible minor religions provide a legitimate path to God and therefore, heaven. It is no wonder this theory is the most popular held theory in the entire world because:
1. It is fair

People who do good deserve good things. You study hard, and you get a good grade. You turn in quality work, you get promoted. This cause and effect relationship is not only shown in our day to day lives, it is also illustrated in many religious texts. For instance The Bible, The Koran, The Book Of Mormon all recount God's eagerness to reward good behavior in this life.
2. It is logical
The theory Goes along with idea that there is a 'good God'. If he dwells in a good place, it makes sense that God would fill heaven with good people.

3. It is good for society
It keeps everyone on their best behavior, or at least it should.

And most people STOP at this point and continue living their lives. I mean why bother to continue thinking about this theory anymore when on the surface it seems to make absolute logical sense. But why not take 5 minutes now to really 'test' this theory a little bit further. HOKAY! Let's take a minute and ask ourselves the following:

1. What defines 'good'?
If good people go to heaven, a good God should have communicated directly to us what qualifies as being 'good'. I mean sure on the surface you may tempted to think well all religions are the same, everyone agrees that it is wrong to lie, cheat, and steal, but then why can't all the religions agree on the formula of good works needed in order to go to heaven? Why does one religion see that participating in suicide bombing in which people get blown up secures them a spot in heaven, while other religions believe that loving your neighbor as yourself gets you into heaven? It just doesn't make sense that a good God wouldn't have made it perfectly clear to everyone what defines 'good'.
2. Maybe everyone uses their own moral compass to define 'good'?
Even if we do innately posses some sort of moral compass or conscience that helps us distinguish right from wrong, it changes over time. For instance, when I was under 21 and would have 5-10 drinks in a night I didn't see it as being bad or doing something wrong. However, now at age 25 I would personally find it wrong for myself to go out and get 'trashed' even though I am of legal age. So which 'moral compass' would God use when determining whether or not to allow me into heaven... my moral compass at age 18-20? or my moral compass at age 25?
3. How does the scoring system for good deeds work?
Maybe God is more merciful than he is just, and will allow us to go into heaven if 10% of our life is filled with good. Or what if God is more righteous and holy than he is merciful and expects 90% of our life to be filled with good works. Or what if God grades us based on a curve, and he uses Mother Teresa (a women who dedicated her life to serving the poor) as a measuring stick. If the latter two are the case, I'm screwed!
4. Can't we use the 10 commandments/bible as a way to gauge how close we are to getting in to heaven?
No. The 10 commandments were given to the Israelites once theywere freed from being slaves in Egypt, because they needed a system of rules to live by to provide a social and civil framework for the nation of Israel. Yes, the bible does tell of people facing earthly consequences for breaking God's law, but you will no where in the bible find it saying that by obeying /breaking the 10 commandments did that make you any closer to getting into heaven/ getting sent to hell. Furthermore, the New Testament gives the reason for the 10 commandments when it says in Romans 3:20 "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."
5. What would Jesus say?
Jesus told the most religious people of his day (i.e Pharisees) that they were not good enough to enter God's Kingdom [Matthew 5:20, For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven] while promising a criminal a spot in Paradise. [Luke 23:39-45 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."]

So where does that leave us... if 'good' people don't go to heaven, then who does.. bad people?? Stay tuned for Part II of my book report.

{Above is a summary of How Good is Good Enough, by Andy Stanley, which I read this weekend. It's short and only takes an hour to read. It can be bought here}

All the single ladies, All the single ladies, Now put ya hands up!

I never normally watch SNL, but now that I am currently a stay at home mom minus the kids, I decided to watch Oprah when JT was on and they showed the below clip, a parody of Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies". So take a minute, watch, and laugh.

haha is it weird that I think Justin can still be attractive in a leotard? Anyways, I digress. This song is about women who are single.... and it's a well known fact (well guys might not be aware of this) but almost all girls posses THELIST... maybe they have started it when they were little while going gaga over Aladdin or Prince Charming, or maybe they didn't start it until after they dated someone that treated them terribly and realized they needed a reminder of what their standards should be. Regardless of timing, THELIST is a list (either mental list or on a piece of paper or computer) of qualities that a woman wants in a husband. Yes, woman are more complicated than men. And yes, unlike most men, our list of requirements for a mate isn't just "hot and fun". (I am generalizing I realize, so no need to get all huffy like the bike, thanks ! ) Somehow I was randomly thinking about this when I was brushing my teeth before Easter brunch, and when I was going through qualities that most woman seem to want I couldn't help but ask... is it really a husband we are searching for... or is it a savior??? Let's look at a sample LIST of requirements and see what I'm talking about.

#1 Introspective and aware- Women want men to know their own minds and hearts. We want men who know what makes us happy or sad. We want men who are aware of what we want and understand what motivates our action or inaction.

• Example: Our significant otherknows our thoughts without us having to tell them or hint....i.e. that we want a David Yurman ring or a Tiffany's necklace for our birthday,anniversary, etc and not a vacuum cleaner or coffee maker.

• How God is this: Because God is all knowing, He knows our thoughts before we even think them ." You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD." (Psalm 139:2-4). "The LORD knows the thoughts of man…" Psalm 94:11, "…God…knows the secrets of the heart." (Psalm 44:21)

#2 Clear, open, sensitive communicator & listener.-Women want men to communicate. Women specifically want communication about feelings, needs, wants, hopes, dreams, problems, solutions and all other things which make a relationship work.

• How God is this: God cares when we are feeling down, and he will listen to us. "Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll are they not in your record?" Psalm 56:8 “O God, Hear My Cry for Help! Pay Attention to My Prayer” (Psalm 61:1).

# 3 Committed to the relationship, exclusively and for the long haul

• How God is this: "...God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. ""(Hebrews 13:5)

#4 Fun, playful, creative, passionate

• How God is this: God has a sense of humor...after all us humans do and we were created in His image (Genesis 1:27) ... God is also creative, after all he created created the universe and everything in it (Genesis 1) .... If you don't think God is creative, check out a bleeding heart, a sea horse, or the 25 world's most interesting animals here. God is also passionate, about loving us (John 15:13) wanting to know us personally (Revelation 3:20) and wanting to spend eternity with us (John 14:1-3) "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8

This list is not exhaustive, it's just a sample. If you think you might want to learn more about what it means to have a personal savior go here

Easter, why I've learned to love it

When I was little, Easter was my least favorite holiday. I mean sure I got the Easter basket complete with a chocolate bunny, Starburst jelly beans, fake grass, and a few plastic eggs...but that was it! Christmas was my favorite because as a child I was a materialistic whore... I mean how could I not get overly excited about getting a Huffy bicycle, an Easy Bake Oven, Where's Waldo Books, and Super Mario Brothers 3?

My like for Easter didn't really change until a few years ago, when I looked beyond the Easter bunny and figured out the true significance of this holiday. As I'm sure you all know Easter has nothing to do with bunnies or eggs. Essentially, the ancient Roman Catholic Church , in order to make Christianity more attractive to non-Christians, mixed the celebration of Jesus' resurrection with a celebration that involved spring fertility rituals. These spring fertility rituals are the source of the egg and bunny traditions. The true, biblical purpose of Easter is to celebrate the resurrection of Christ that occurred three days after His crucifixion [and because of Jesus' death/resurrection, I have been given and have chosen to accept the free gift of eternal life and I can be 100% sure that when I die, I will be going to heaven to spend eternity with the God of this universe, yippee! (John 1:12 John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9) ] For proof of the death/resurrection go here . This single event is literally the linchpin of Christianity. It is a fairly well-established fact that Jesus Christ was publicly executed in Judea in the 1st Century A.D., under Pontius Pilate, by means of crucifixion, at the Jewish Sanhedrin. However, after this point, not everyone believes the same thing. Christians believe Jesus died and then on the third day rose again (which explains why Mary and others found Jesus's tomb empty). While others believe he died and someone hid his body even though there were guards watching it the whole time making this theory implausible, while others believe in a Swoon Theory- the belief that Jesus didn’t really die at His crucifixion, but was merely unconscious when He was laid in the tomb and there He resuscitated.... I'm sorry but this theory is bogus. Read here as to why. So yea, what I'm saying is you can't just believe Jesus is God but instead believe that God spared Jesus the pain of death and took him straight to heaven (Islam religion). You absolutely must believe that Christ was nailed to a cross, suffered, died and was buried, and on the third day rose again, otherwise the Christian religion is a complete JOKE. If you don't believe me, just hear what Paul says in 1 Corinthians:15 when he explains in detail the resurrection of Christ. Paul was speaking to those in Corinth who didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead and Paul gives 6 disastrous consequences if there was no resurrection:
1) preaching Christ would be senseless (v. 14);
2) faith in Christ would be useless (v. 14);
3) all the witnesses and preachers of the resurrection would be liars (v. 15);
4) no one would be redeemed from sin (v. 17);
5) all former believers would have perished (v.18); and
6) Christians would be the most pitiable people on the earth (v. 19).
But Christ indeed has risen from the dead and “has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen sleep” (v. 20), assuring that we will follow Him in resurrection.

TRANSLATION: If Christ didn't die on the cross for our sins and resurrect after 3 days, telling people about Christ would be pointless, faith would be useless, all of the eyewitness testimonies of the resurrection must have lied, no one would be able to have eternal life, i.e. go to heaven because we would not be redeemed from sin =( , all believers before Christ wouldn't have eternal life, and Christians would be people that others would pity because of their pathetic belief in something that was an absolute farce.

Furthermore, the death and resurrection
1.)Proves Christ is the Son of God
-Romans 1:4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
2.) Offers Eternal Life to Anyone that Believes Jesus is God bc Jesus Bore ALL sins!
-Hebrews 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
-Hebrews 9:27-28 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
-Issiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Hopefully, you don't feel like the bunny in the picture who is all confused, but if you do please visit www.gotquestions.org/easter.html

Nicaragua Part 3: it's all about the Benjamins baby... SIKE!

On the second day of our trip, we spent most of the day in Bethel, a small village 10 minutes outside "The Project" where we were staying. As soon as we got there, Kristen, who I'm convinced is my long lost sister/twin, and who has traveled to Nica with Vision Nicaragua multiple times and is considering moving there permanently, took me with her to see her 'adopted' family. On the walk over to their house, Kristen warned me that they were one of the poorest families in Bethel and it became painstakingly evident when I stepped foot into their home. There I was, in a cramped 7 x20 room, that held 1 full size bed, a small table, a few hooks on the wall to hang the single pair of shoes that each of the 3 hijas/daughters owned, 2 plastic chairs, and one light bulb near the front door that dangled from a wire. I kept looking over my shoulder trying to figure out where the other rooms were and where everyone slept, but Kristen soon informed me that all 5 family members (mom, dad, and a 11, 6, and 3 year old) sleep together in the full size bed. Also, keep in mind this wasn't a heavenly bed from the Westin, this was a cheap metal frame, with no mattress, that used to only have 2 2x4's going across the width of the bed but was recently upgraded to have a rattan material across the entirety of the frame (imagine the back of a rocking chair). No blankets, throws, down comforters. As shown in the pictures, the bathroom and kitchen were outside.

We hung out with the mom and three girls for probably half an hour. The families only source of income ($100/month) comes from the father who labors 6 months out of the year in the sugar cane fields. Tragically, the father has already contracted the dreaded kidney disease that results from laboring with harmful farming chemicals, and will likely have to stop working soon. The mom was busy talking away in espanol catching up with Kristen, and in the process explaining how it's hard and sometimes impossible to provide 2-3 meals for her daughters each day, and when it is a meal it's always gallo pinto (which the 11 year old gets angry about because there is no variety). After all of this, the youngest girl, whose name is pronounced HEN-E-SIS, grabbed a small black plastic bag from the table and offered Kristen and I some type of tropical fruit that looked like a mango but wasn't. The mom then asked Kristen and I if we would each like a soda. After hearing about and seeing of their poverty, there was no way I could accept such a sacrificial, heart felt gift, so I respectfully declined.

The mom's simple gesture of offering us a soda, was a perfect example of how as Christians we are to act when giving and making sacrifices. What are we to give? Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites were consistently commanded to give from the firstfruits of their crops as an acknowledgement that everything they had came from God. Proverbs 3:9 says, Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops. God does not ask for what’s left after we’ve paid for everything else and the mom did exactly this. She offered her guests the absolute best of what she had, and not just offering what she had left over or had no use for. Why are we to give? The bible also says that quantity of giving is irrelevant, but it is our willingness to give which is important (2 Corinthians 8:12) . Also, She wasn't giving under compulsion or out of obligation or because she thought it would somehow earn God's favor, but instead she was doing so cheerfully and out of love! (2 Corinthians 9:7). How are we to give? Jesus makes it clear that our gifts to God should be substantial enough to be considered sacrificial. And giving isn’t sacrificial unless it’s a sacrifice. (Mark 12:41-44). Those 2 sodas to you or I , may not have seemed like much, but from the mother's perspective, that was all she had! Her family doesn't even normally drink soda as that is considered a luxury.

My eyes have definitely been opened from this experience. What I used to consider a sacrifice (i.e. having to get up early on Sunday, and by early I mean 10:00am, yes I have issues sleeping in way too long and consider 10:00 am early, so that I could make it to KidsQuest to teach 3rd graders about Jesus), now seems trivial to the sacrifices I saw in Nicaragua.

So I ask you. What sacrifices have you made, if any? Do you find yourself saying, "oh well once I make x more money, once I have more free time, or if I was a millionaire, I would donate?" If this is the case, I would like to say that even if you reach these points, you're giving won't change. If you don't believe me, re-read the story I just told you of the Nica mother, or go to the bible and read about how a beggar came to church and gave 2 small copper coins, equivalent to a fraction of a penny, but she literally GAVE ALL SHE HAD. (Mark 12:41-44).

Not a sermon, just a blog.

ATTENTION MIDDLE EASTERNERS: Gossip Girl here. Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Israel’s elite.

Spotted: Leah falling into the arms of Jacob and winning 3 kids as her prize. Sorry Rachel, looks like your fireworks were a hit and a miss. Will J’s love for Leah last, or will Miss maid servant be his next target to mark? Oh mirror, mirror on the wall, now who does Jacob find fairest of them all? Leah, Rachel, or maid servant, J, which one will it be? Don’t you realize you can’t have all three? Oh J, you sly little dog, did you think you could keep up this trickery forever? And that Rachel would find out, when, never? Too bad Leah’s bump is a clear sign of your cheating. Rachel, looks like you’re the one that will need to be fleeting…

Yes, I realize this is April Fool's Day.. but the story you are about to read is 100% from the bible. It is full of manipulation, bribery, jealousy, and sexual promiscuity. The first time I read it with my small group two weeks ago, my jaw dropped... was this really happening??? I mean sure it happens in the real world all the time today, but I mean really, these people are in the Old Testament... Jacob is part of the bloodline of Christ...so doesn't that mean by default he would be a good an faithful servant, someone who was always faithful to God, who didn't fall prey to sin? Well, as you will see as you read the juicy story below, that is far from the truth. Jacob, Rachel, and Leah were all troubled by sin.. just like you and I are.. but what I find so amazing is that God hand picked these people to be part of Christ's bloodline when he could have easily through his sovereignty made them be more holy and righteous!!!! Or why didn't God just change his mind, why didn't he just wipe out the people like he did with the Flood and start over again??? Because God keeps his promises, He said he will never again curse the ground because of man or strike down every living thing as he did with the flood (Genesis 8:21, Genesis 9:11-15) and He also promised Abraham "I will make you a great nation, bless you, and make your name great" (Genesis 12:2). For me it just goes to show how wide and how deep the love of God really is (Ephesians 3:18).. if he can love these two timing, double crossing, deceptive people from the Old Testament, what's to say he can't love you? Well he can, he wants to... That's why he sent Jesus to earth and to die FOR everyone... but the ball is in our court.. we have free will.. it's like receiving a free gift, we can either accept the gift or reject it.. it's that simple. But enough rambling, read the passage for yourself. Below is Genesis 29:31-30:24 JUICY PARTS ARE IN RED!

When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, or she said, "It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now." She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon. Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi. She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the LORD." So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.
When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die!” Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” Then she said, "Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and that through her I too can build a family." So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, and she became pregnant and bore him a son. Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." Because of this she named him Dan. Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, "What good fortune!" So she named him Gad. Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, "How happy I am! The women will call me happy." So she named him Asher. During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me," she said. "I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night. God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. Then Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband." So she named him Issachar. Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. Then Leah said, "God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun. Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace." She named him Joseph, and said, "May the LORD add to me another son."

Nicaragua Part 2: A better life?

Our first full day in Nicaragua was kicked off with an amazing breakfast consisting of gallo pinto, coffee, Nicaraguan orange juice (a diluted version of tang), and toast with gava jelly prepared by our two lovely cooks at “The Project” (i.e. Vision Nicaragua’s property which has a sleeping facility, cafe, medical facility, welding shop, tienda, and block company). After a quick meal, all 8 of us Gringos (what the Nicas liked to refer to white people), piled into the back of a flat bed truck complete with old rusty white metal railings as a means to keep us from falling off of or out of the truck. During the 30 minute drive I was exposed to many interesting scenic views… I got a great glimpse of a volcano that allegedly has been emitting smoke since since the 40s, I saw lots of open field with those random little African looking trees that made me be on the lookout for Simba look alikes, and even saw some open grassy areas with rolling hills that reminded me of Charlottesville.

Kevin, the leader of our trip whose 11th trip this was with Vision Nicaragua, explained to us that we would be spending the entire day at Campuzano. The main purpose for going was to witness the baptisms that were taking place in the lake, and also just show some love to the kids by spending time with them. As soon as we got to Campuzano we joined about 150 people that just arrived from impoverished village of Bethel and I proceeded to 1.) hear a sermon and sing worship songs, 2.) actively watch 20ish people get baptized 3.) play futbol, 4.) swim/play in the “lake” with the kids and 5.) eat “pappas fritas con ensalada’ which had the flavor of baked lays, but was tough like a dog’s raw hide, and topped with some type of white cabbage with some delicious vinegar/salsa sauce. The part I remember most distinctly about this particular day was during the sermon. Even though I haven’t taken Spanish since 10th grade and thus didn’t understand 99% of the sermon (except for when they said HOSH-UA UNO: NUEVE), I learned so much from just observing what was going on around me. Here were a bunch of people worshiping God, some with hands in the air, others slapping their knees or clapping to the beat of the current worship song, but all doing so cheerfully, with passion, and with joy.

I couldn’t help but think to myself, are these young adults better off than my peers in the U.S that don't know Jesus? I mean from a WORLDLY perspective, the answer would be an OBVIOUS no... after-all The Nica’s aren’t as educated as my friends—schools are highly disorganized and teachers struggle to keep the kids attention and have little to no consequences for disruptive or misbehaved kids, the Nica’s aren’t required by law to go to school so many will simply not go when they don’t ‘feel like it’, while others don’t go to school because they can’t afford the uniforms. The Nica’s don’t have as many material possessions as my friends---maybe they have 2-3 outfits total, 1 pair of shoes, no tv, no ipod, no ‘summer house’, no iphone, bedroom of their own, maybe if they are lucky they have access to a bike which they share amongst 10 of their friends. The Nica’s health care is dismal compared to US health care--- most don’t have access to a toothbrush and toothpaste, it’s considered a luxury to eat 3 meals a day (and the majority of the time each meal is the same, gallo pinto), most young male adults are destined, as their fathers were, due to lack of education and lack of alternative opportunities, to work in the sugar cane fields which are sprayed with a harmful pesticide that causes kidney failure and ultimately death.

But wait... the Nicas all come across as being genuinely content... always smiling, never complaining, and ready with unlimited amounts of hugs... but how can that be when from a worldly perspective they have none of the ingredients necessary for contentment? Maybe it's because they are like Paul... 'I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.' Philipians 4:13. Or maybe it's because they have been disciplined to be strong and courageous, because they know the Lord God is with them wherever they go (Joshua 1:9). Or maybe it's because they were about to publically announce via a baptism that they loooooove Jesus, recognize Him as their Lord and savior. Or maybe it's because they are 100% confident they have an eternal address waiting for them in heaven when they die because they have a personal relationship with the God of this universe and there is nothing they can do to lose their salvation (Eph. 1:13-14, 1 Peter 1:3-5, 1 Peter 3:18).

So I'm curious.... what is your measuring stick to assess whether or not you have a 'good life' ? and what makes you content/joyful and is it lasting?

The Real World: Nicaragua

This is the true story...of 10 strangers...called by God to go to Nicaragua...work together and have their lives changed...to find out what happens...when people stop being materialistic... and start getting humbled...THEREALWORLD:Nicaragua.

How did you end up on that trip?
This was originally supposed to be the "Money Money Money" blog from True Life, but I've decided to combine it into this post. Bear with me because its a long story. It all started when I went to a Super Bowl party with some intense Steelers fans. I was keeping a low profile at the party and not socializing/yelling much because I was secretly cheering for the Cardinals, when in reality I was only invited bc I solemnly swore to fling around a terrible towel at any and all given opportunites. So despite not interacting with the Steelers fans who were visiting the DC area, one Steelers fan, Jonathan, to be exact, decided to friend me on f book. Note: apparently he loves f book and will friend anyone that comes within a 15 foot radius of himself, LOL love you J! Since we were now officially friends haha J and I began to chat, asking the usual questions you do to someone you barely know. When asked about where I worked, I told him how I was considering leaving my job and taking some time to travel to possibly Nicaragua, and other places before grad school. J told me his friend Kristen loves Nicaragua, has been multiple times, was going to be going in March, and that he would connect me with her. I remember thinking how sweet it was of J to help me, but didn't actually think it would turn into anything as I was already planning on applying for a trip to Nicaragua through Frontline (my home church).

Welp, I was completely wrong. Kristen and I began exchanging emails and she told me when the trip was, how much it cost, and who was going (not like i knew anyone on the list haha). I later talked to her on the phone for 45 minutes to get more details. At this point and time there was about 3 weeks before the actual trip. After a lot of prayer, (yes I know I should have read the bible as well to help me with my decision, but I was being lazy LOL ) and getting excited from talking to Kristen, I decided I was going to go. Since there wasn't much time remaining before the trip, I figured I wouldn't have time to fund raise money, so I made the executive decision to pay for it out of my own pocket. I remember calling my Dad on President's Day to tell him of the great news and he totally squashed my excitement for the trip by saying "A foreign country?! You're going to get shot" , " This is not a smart financial decision" , " There is plenty of need in DC, why can't you just serve people there". After the phone call I remember deciding that because I would soon have no job yet be paying rent through the summer, and have to be forking over $120K for grad school over the next two years, I should only go if I could somehow get this $1500 by either investing in the stock market, or some other type of miracle.

PUNCHLINE OF THE STORY: I prayed to God asking for wisdom if I should go on the trip and if I was supposed to go that he would provide the financial means for me to do so. Welp, God is incredible! Later in the afternoon I went home to do my taxes via Turbo Tax (which is amazing by the way and everyone should use it!!!! ) and within the hour I was finished. The last step was finding out that I was to receive a federal/state tax return in the amount of $1567 DUN DUN DUN! Just barely over the exact amount I needed to go to Nicaragua. HALLELUJIAH PRAISE JESUS! So yes, I called up my Dad, told him I found the money, and was going on the trip!


Where exactly were you?
Two hours north of Managua (see star on map above). Went to small villages including Bethel, Santa Maria, and Chonco (sp)

Who did you go with?
Vision Nicaragua. And no, we didn't work with any orphanages contrary to popular belief. Mission is to provide for the spiritual (i.e tell about Jesus), emotional (show Gods love), physical (food, houses, medical help), financial (teach skills and trades for self-support and alternatives to working in sugar cane plantation) needs of the people of Nicaragua.

What did you do there?
Ate lots of gallo pinto, took cold showers (only option), taught the Nicos how to do the robot dance, gave lots of hugs, smiled all the time, spoke spanglish, played soccer with the Nicos, watched kids annihilate a star pinata we brought to Bethel and Santa Maria, went to a local water hole for baptisms, handed out gift boxes to the children of Bethel and Santa Maria, assembled and delivered rice, beans, and Bible traks door-to-door to families of Bethel and Chonco, did daily devotionals with the other Gringos (aka other white people from Vision Nicaragua), attended youth group night/sermon night/dance night with the youth of Bethel, learned some dance from Bethel's Church Dance Team, spent a night in the village of Bethel at la casa di Connie, saw a pig and rooster for the first time in real life, held a parrot on my finger, experienced the awesomeness that is chocolate and strawberry flavored Chicky, contracted strep throat and went to the doctor only to be given medicine one of which I refused to take because the translator was unable to tell me the english equivalent, received a sweet pink bracelet and a heart felt letter from my new BFF that lived in Bethel aka 13 year old Irene, realized that roosters are incredibly dumb animals that don't just crow once when the sun comes up but instead crow sporatically with the intention to annoy, always rode in the back of an open flat bed truck with an assortment of nicas/gringos ranging from 15-25 total people, saw a volcano smoke daily, cried when I learned that most of the young men I met have a death sentence from kidney disease as a result of working in the sugar cane field which uses harmful agrochemicals such as aldrin, chlorothalonil, maneb, copper sulfate, endrin, and Nemagon, watched Carmen do some awesome evangelizing with the use of the evangecube, came within 1 foot of a gecko, sang Hillsong United songs in espanol, and got a tour of all of the mini businesses (the block company, the welding shop, the tienda, the medical clinic) that Vision Nicaragua has set up to provide an alternative to working in sugar cane plantations.

What did you learn?
Conveniently God taught me something every day I was there, so the next 5 posts will describe each of the 5 days I was there, more in depth about what happened each day, but more importantly what I learned about God's character and how I as a Christian should be living my life.

Thanks for everyone's prayers while I was gone!

Time is a Bicycle Wheel, and Christ is the hub.

This post is a follow up to the "It's Too Late To Apologize.." post summarizing part 2 of Destination Truth sermon series. Someone messaged me saying " You chart thing mentions 2 things 1. that the only way into heaven is through Jesus and 2. God, therefore as a messenger reveals himself and presumably makes an impression on everyone so as to give them the choice to accept or not accept salvation. Factually however, this is inaccurate as there were people in existence before Jesus,". Inherent in this comment is the question,"What about the people before Jesus? How were they saved?"

Todd Philips, the teaching pastor of Fronline, explains it best "Before Jesus came to earth, since the fall of Adam and Eve, basis of salvation has always been the death of Jesus of the cross. All of time permeates out from the centrality of the cross of Christ. Whether you go back in time, or forward from that point of the cross, everything wraps itself around the reality of the cross. " TAKE A MOMENT TO ENJOY THE VISUAL PICTURE I CRAFTED ABOVE AND SAY 'OOOOO..... AHHHHHH' JK. But seriously, the point is that regardless of the time in history, the fall of Adam and Eve, Noah's ark and the flood, Abraham's covenant with God, the birth of Moses, Esther becoming queen, the birth of Christ, the death of Christ, the invention of the printing press which allowed the bible to be mass produced, my relative Christopher Columbus accidentally finding America, the declaration of independence, the great depression, or present day, salvation was/is via faith in Christ alone. Estimated dates for biblical events can be found here.

And finally, for those of you who want a little more back up to my claims about it always being belief that Jesus is the only way even before He came, see the chart below. For more information please see the whole article where I took the information from.

Fairy Godmother?!

Story 1- Fairy Godmother?! from True Life of Gospel Girl
It was New Years Day. I drove home to ch'ville to spend some time with the parents. My Mom said they were getting lunch at the neighbors and to pop in when I arrived. haha yeah right! Not only have I only met these neighbors 1 time on the street in their 8 years of living next door to us, but also I was also not in the mood for small talk. So when I arrived in our neighborhood, I parked my car at my parent's house and decided to just slip inside before my mom realized I was home. I went to the frontdoor, jammed the key into the lock, but to my dismay it wasn't working, odd i know. So i then decided to try to McGuiver my way into the house, and by McGuiver I mean walk around back, go to the 'secret location' where we have a key hidden, and try getting in through the deck/porch door. Well, that didn't work either. I then thought to call my Mom and ask her to come let me into the house, but my cell phone had no reception, awesome.

So after my multiple attempts to avoid going to the neighbors, I decided it was the only option that remained, so I went over there. There were about 15 or so people when I got there, and I immedeately noticed my brother. I found out he was leaving to go get Grace so I decided to volunteer myself to go with him so I could just have an excuse to leave and go back to my house, this time with a working key! Well, God definitely squashed that idea when my brother said "Chessy, that's silly, you just got here, I dont' want to take you away from here". BAH! foiled again. So I started munching on some celery and strawberries, cut a slice of cake, and decided I could just shovel food into my mouth to avoid small talk.

I ended up going into the Florida room, where my Mom was talking to Carmen. Note this was the first time my family had ever been invited over to Carmen/Dirks house, you could say they were total strangers to us. So Carmen began asking me the general questions, where do you live, where do you work, etc. Although it started off somewhat uninteresting, things took a complete turn when my mom mentioned that she enjoyed walking in the neighborhood. Carmen then topped it by saying her and Dirk go on hikes a lot, and then I one upped everyone haha when I mentioned people from my church are planning to hike the 7 highest peaks in the world as a way to raise $10MM to provide clean water to the entire nation of Liberia by 2013.

The next 30 minutes was filled with tons of new information. Carmen revealed to my Mom and I that her and Dirk used to live in Northern Va, they had been to McLean Bible a few times, and Dirk (a scientist) was once an atheist. We then chatted about Lon Solomon, the Falls Church church that they went to, and other similar religious type things. At this point, I was actually half glad I came, but still was envisioning my queen bed and fluffy down comforter that was waiting for me when I got home. At this point, practically all of the other guests had left or were on their way out the door so I went to the bedroom to get my coat, and headed for the door when Carmen said "Chessy, hang back for a minute there is something I want to show you. "

OK DON'T STOP READING... THIS IS THE MEAT/BEST MOST IMPORTANT PART! Carmen showed me her library that was filled with what looked to be Enclyopedia Britanica's based on the sheer size and number of uniform books. The books were actually commentaries on the entire bible. Carmen told me that her and Dirk had been missionaries most of their life, and that Dirk is always looking for tough questions about faith that he can answer. Carmen also told me that they are very relational based and don't just go up to people and impose Jesus on them (Amen Sista!) . I told Carmen how I had been praying for my parents for years, told her how my parents were both very skeptical when my brother and I became "born again Christians'", how they thought it was a cult/we were brainwashed, and how eventually God managed to change my Dad's heart over a 4 year time period, how my Dad started watching Frontline live via the internet campus, how my Dad after the death of his brother nearly a year ago decided to start a relationship with Christ, and how for the past year I had been praying that they could find either a bible study or at least community with other Christians. Carmen told me that she realized her and Dirk had nothing in common with my parents, but that she would be open to doing a bible study with them. Carmen and I continued to talk for another 45 minutes, and it was crazy!!! I felt like she was someone I had known for years. It's so amazing to me how when two people have the Holy Spirit living inside of them, that's all it takes to make an instant connection.

Three weeks ago, the bible study started at Carmen/Dirk's house. After the first bible study, I talked to my mom and I have never heard her so excited on the phone in my entire life. She was telling me how she had all these questions for Dirk (Yes, my mom is awesome at asking questions, and I'm convinced she missed out on her career as a reporter) and how they learned about the general structure/history/organization of the bible. After the second bible study, one week later, I was talking to my Dad and he was telling me how awesome it was . "Chess , Chess, it's like we're taking classes! We were over there for 2 hours, reading Genesis 1-3 and seeing how it ties into John.. and Dirk is so on top of things! he has his own lesson plan and he gave us homework! Oh and of course your Mom was asking tons of questions, it was so good! ". I had to stop myself from crying tears of joy as my Dad was telling me this on the phone. It seemed surreal. If you knew the back story of my family you would be as shocked as I was. So really, I hope you take away the fact that there is no explanation for how all this orchestrated and developed other than the fact that God exists, He is in control of all the details in our life, and He can change even the hardest of hearts.

"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible " Matthew 19:26