All a part of the journey....

Life continues to amaze me...I expect and envision things to be a certain way and they show themselves to be quite different than i foresaw or predicted....

We realize this amazing truth when we anticipate meeting a new person...or even spending time with someone we haven't connected with in a while...

Also, when we are excited about going to a new place to experience a brand new culture...things are not always different in a bad way...but just different...

We desire things in the future to be perfect and totally life altering...but we find out the hard way that contentment comes not from people, places or food...but from God...

All of this i say in hindsight of the recent "Encounter" tour that we took along the east coast...

I awaited this "tour" (when we give things labels like "tour" or "party"...immediately great expectations are attached to them)...anyways..."tour" was going to be this dream like life changing event that got better each day...

Of course...our trip was not even remotely like what I had in mind in the previous months coming up to it...

It was a battle, a struggle, a great difficulty...one of the hardest trips i have ever been a part of...

Maybe you are surprised...maybe you understand...maybe you expected...or thought our trips and "tours" are never difficult and stretching....

Oh...but there is such value....such a freedom and joy that comes when we go through times of struggle....times of the "unexpected"...when what was "supposed" to be a sweet dream turns out to be more like a "nightmare"...

But even while we seem to be stuck in a "nightmare" in our personal lives as we struggle to build relationships...as our pride and selfish desires get in the way...as we are in the process of self discovery (which has not been so pretty in the recent past for me)....God shows up...His love is portrayed...peoples lives are changed...their minds are set free...their perspectives are liberated from the bondage of self...

God's power truly is made perfect in weakness...it is quite amazing...and peculiar...

I thought i would get to the end of the tour and be the bitter, unforgiving, selfish person i dread to become...

but, quite the contrary happened...i began to humble myself...to appreciate others...to see God in others' strengths (and weaknesses)...to not judge...but give grace...to forgive...to ask for forgiveness...to give of my time and energy for the sake of others...whether it benefits me or not...

I have learned how to love...ha..with much more to learn...but as i look back on the struggle of our trip...I see beauty in the struggle...and hope in what at the time seemed like despair...

I truly enjoy the people God has surrounded me with in a deeper way now...i appreciate them...i am learning to...and choosing to love them...with the understanding that i have of love...

Our Encounter tour was nothing like what i expected....

But also...this freedom, joy and love I am living in has greatly surpassed all of my expectations...

be open...be honest...forgive...give grace...see beauty in other people...(they are made in God's image)...humble yourself and love...let go of selfish desires and truly care for others...

I learned this the hard way...but without the "hard" i'm not sure there would be a "way"...

Be encouraged...be inspired....be loved...and love radically!

What if....

6:48 a.m......"Aaron, time to get up...rise and shine"...i remember the little jingle so vividly that my mother would sing in the mornings..."rise and shine and give God the glory glory"....at 18 years old, just after the sunrise the last thing i wanted to hear was my sweet, joyful mother singing to me...."ahhh, 2 more minutes mom! geez...give me 2 more minutes"

As we ponder life here in the US of A we will quickly see how selfishness is deeply ingrained within each one of us...

"2 more minutes mom"...or lets go back even further to early childhood....we are all familiar with the famous...."what do YOU want to be when you grow up"...

hah...something im sure we all still wrestle with to some extent...

it seems to me that we have been brought up thinking we are special in our own eyes....we have heard it said....we live in a "blessed nation"...."God bless America"...and im sure He has at some point...

I think we have gotten wrapped up into the "american dream" thinking WE can be special in OUR special nation....

I beginning to wonder how Jesus' life and teachings and our way of life and beliefs are the same....or even remotely similar...

Are we looking at america through the eyes of Jesus' life or looking at Jesus' life through the selfish eyes of America?

what if Jesus really meant it when he said love not just your neighbors but your enemies....or what if Jesus truly did mean it when he said the least will be the greatest in His kingdom?

What if He wants us to live by the example He exemplified in washing His followers feet (some of whom being teenagers)?

I pray that i am probing you question as much as I am...

I don't have the answers...but i do have a burning desire deep within me that is longing to live and love like Jesus...and maybe that looks freakishly different than that of modern day American
Christianity....

could we just begin to look at the life of Jesus in the gospels and believe that He means it with all of His heart...

because i have found....selfishness leaves me weary, frustrated and bored...

girls...correct me if i'm wrong...but fitting into that size 4 dress won't quench your passionate thirst to love and be loved...

guys....that washboard 8 pack that gets the ladies' attention will not bring you the affirmation that Jesus wants to give you as you model His life....(Ive been there...tirelessly striving to attain that "perfect" body to cover up my conformed and broken heart...)

that dream career you embark upon to truly be "somebody" will become dry and tasteless before you even reach the top of the corporate ladder...

It is just not worth it....

Maybe Jesus really means that He who loses his life will find it...

and maybe taking up our cross and following Him means more than wearing a 14k gold chain around our necks....

Maybe Jesus' sermon on the mount was an actuality...

Maybe Jesus would have us not just agree that being willing to sell all you have and give it to the poor is a good idea...but actually begin to take care of those who lack...

maybe moth and rust truly will destroy the treasures we have stored up here on this earth...

maybe so much of our worry and toil is in vain...

maybe there is more....


....what if He means what He says....

My heart...

I think to make a goal for this blog would be to make it less than what it can be....

For me, a goal would just give you and i expectations that will not be met...

I will however begin by sharing my heart as honestly as I know how to...

There is a liberating power in speaking the truth and sharing ones honest heart...(I have a great testimony relating to this...coming soon)

before I begin to share my thoughts, opinions and beliefs with you, I want you to have a better understanding of who I am (more than just knowing that I am a fan Braveheart and the Beach Boys).

Families are a godly thing...they help shape and form us...God loves community...He is personal and intimate with us but He is also a communal God...

I love my dad, although our history may be a bit rocky...God has been healing and restoring our relationship back to its original pure design!

He is becoming more a friend to me, rather than just an authority figure...

I respect him greatly and am extremely grateful for all he has shown me over the years...

He is an incredible example of a selfless life preferring others...he is a servant and a man full of love for others...(good job mom, you got yourself a winner)

My mom is a wonderfully gentle and humble woman...i love her very much! She raised 4 boys, homeschooling all of us....and somehow she retains her sweetness....(the grace of God...she would say)....

She also has been an amazing example of what it is to love selflessly by giving of her time, energy and gifts to help lead her boys into lives of love for God and people....(yeah dad, you got yourself a champion)....(the grace of God, he would tell you)....

I have 3 brothers...I am second to the youngest...Ben is the oldest...then Dan...Me and Ethan...

We love each other....a lot...it may not show to the outside, untrained eye but there is a special bond between 4 brothers growing up together...My relationship with them has grown in a great way over the past few years....

After fighting each one of them at some point (sometimes leaving us both bruised, broken and bloody)...i now realize how much i love and appreciate each one of them...each one a little different from the rest...

It is a humbling thing to apologize to family for the things you have done that were motivated by anything but love....it shapes us....

what i know now is our past history is just that...in the past....and i love my family and thank them for their faithfulness and love....and for not giving up on me...there were a few years where i wouldn't have blamed them for it...

learning to appreciate others begins with appreciating the "others" God has divinely given you as your family.....

I encourage us all to look at them through a different set of lenses...maybe through their point of view...jump into their shoes...ask them about their lives...how they think...what their dreams are...how they "tick"...

we can live years and years with family and not truly get to know them...

be honest...no matter how awkward it may be at first....be honest and real...there is power in it...

true honesty is indifferent of reaction....