In my corner

I worked, ran, cleaned, did laundry, slept, drank diet coke, grocery shopped, read, went to the Y, it was pretty much a normal week. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Due to the nature of my friends and the people I follow on twitter, on Sundays my twitter feed and facebook statuses are full of quotes from preachers and invitations to come out to church, if you aren't here you are missing, etc. I think it's great that everyone loves their church and won't debate what church is the best or what pastor is the best. Go where God leads, many blessings on you and your church.

Having said that, I got this. Amazing, really.

Steve leading Amazing Grace to the tune of "The House of the Rising Sun". I love Amazing Grace. I love any thing that rocks, and I LOVE STEVE. But this was a perfect song for him. Style, range, content and it's one he loves the lyrics so he sang the heck out of it.

Then, I got this.

Whitney says, "hey, Tarzan is preachng today". Tarzan is actually Cody Knutsen, a former Wichitan and member of Gracepoint that now is a missionary to Costa Rica. They run a children's ministry to teach the children about Jesus. They also help kids with schoolwork. GP is in the process of adopting the students in their children's ministry so they can attend school. Uniforms are required to attend school, so the money goes for uniforms and school supplies. The parents bring the kids and then hang out because they have nowhere else to be, and they are learning about Jesus too.

Cody's message was beautifully simple. No catchy phrases, nothing to tweet. It was simply to give everything you have. To give your life to live for God.

This was especially powerful as it came from a man who gave up everything to live in the slums of Costa Rica to minister to the people there. They live in the same houses as the people they are ministering too. They eat rice and beans every day. He says they are dirty and they stink. They don't have insurance. And he absolutely loves it.

We are not all called to missions. We can't all live in Costa Rica. But we can all love God and love everyone around us. And that is a scriptural concept that God continues to impress on me. Love him, love everyone else around me. That's what he has called me too. I really wonder what this looks like for me. What it actually looks like right now and what it really should look like. I'll be chewing on this one for awhile.

And singing "there is a house in New Orleans..." Wait, that's the tune, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound..." those lyrics.