This was a long anticipated post i always wanted to write about but i put it off and got lazy w/no time.. But it seems that one of my friends Marshall already did it recently so I stole it from him because it was well said, and i am with him on this 200%

Why is there this stigma among "Christian people" that being ambitious and pursuing success is wrong? They seem so reluctant to be around this type of person, worried that his ambition is somehow  "sinful,"  and that it will rub off on them.  I believe quite the contrary. "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded." (Luke 12:48) .  If my gifting is in teaching, then I'm gonna go teach the illiterate of the world to read to open up opportunites. If it's in medicine, then I'm going to heal those that are helpless. If it's in business, then I'm gonna make tons of money to support those with the two previous callings. But why do I feel that, by pursuing a lucrative or ambitious career, I am someone not being a "good" Christian?  The rich-man-camel-can't-fit-needle passage refers to a person's attitude about money, not money itself.  The commonly referenced money=bad passage is grossly misquoted.  "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." (1 Timothy 6:10)  Money itself is not bad, in the hands of the right person.  Even more reason to encourage the faith of those who are pursuing riches for God.  I think it's just as easy for a poor man to stumble in his faith as a rich man. 

God has called us to do all we can for the world.  And I honestly believe that some churches have somehow led people to believe that it's ok to take a backseat in the world; do the church thing on sundays, work a mild-mannered 9-5 job on the weekday, and just be content trying to improve the health of the Christian Bubble. Well I don't buy that.  Life is short, and God has big plans for His people here on earth. This whole mentality of being a quiet little christian is crippling our community and ultimately His Kingdom. In fact, I think it's selfish. I know so many people that could be doing so much more with their lives but are content just doing whatever they're doing.  I have no right to judge whether this is wrong, but my fear is that their current state is due to a fear to dream. I believe that as Christians, we are expected to dream big and fight to make these dreams come true.  God's not going to drop everything in our laps.  That's why He gave us a heart and a mind, so that we may perservere and work for what we believe in.  Whether it's through business, teaching, healing, music...strive to be the best for Him.  Challenge yourself, your comfort zone, and use the gifts He's given you to the fullest potential.  Most importantly though, do it out of love. And if that makes you rich, then good for you.  Just remember that God's loaning you the money at 10% interest. =)

Jesus said, "go and make disciples of all nations."

Currently Reading Trust : The One Thing That Makes or Breaks a Leader By Les T. Csorba see related

The Infamous... Mr Landes... (the tall guy)

just thought some of you mite wanna see.. btw check out the mom's glasses =P.. I didn't know those really existed other than in movies! kinda surreal

BNFL

 life is excellent. God is filled with grace. 

once i hit the qtr century club... no more xanga.. =D

Onwards...

It's a matter of fact. over 90% of the human race will not do a lot of what they know they ought to do unless they love doing it. and i'm not talking about what they're naturally inclined or would like to do.. they just don't do it. doesn't matter what the case: practicing their own beliefs, ethics, academics, finances, etc. What ppl don't realize oftentimes is that the silence of their fears is what drives them to do most things that ought to be done. ie: fear of: getting bad grades (only the top 10% or less get As), not being successful (only the top 2-10% are successful), not being rich (only 2-5% of all ppl are financially independent and wealthy at the same time), being unable to achieve/acquire a position(top 1-5%), breaking thier own promises (everybody), losing someone (divorce rate is over 50% and a trillion relationship break-ups), losing credibility (everybody experiences this), humiliation (everybody), going to jail, hell.. blah blah blha a;sldjfhapuhdsf kjafndsvoiaufhdj....

and sometimes when you hear the pastor or a peer say over and over again "Imagine yourself facing God.. what would you have done differently?"... im sorry but for those of you who didn't quite get the memo.. it doesn't mean that you gotta feel obliged to do things for God out of fear.. it's actually a nicer way of telling us "Imagine you facing yourself in the mirror. what do you think? How's the baggage?" (by that i don't mean excess cellulite) ..or in other words "You wanna know what's wrong? Look at yourself in the mirror and it'll tell you everything that went wrong! Can you handle the truth?" <-- now i think facing ourselves is in truth much scarier than facing God, don't you?? besides, it takes more ballz to work harder on urself than working hard at ur calling/job. so 'why would you need Him?'?? ..unless you see living in circles with a lifetime of fear is so abundant.. Why wouldn't you?!

but whew.. cuz:

"When we fear God and God only, we are no longer bound by all of the other fears that would hold us captive. The fear of death, the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of insignificance - all of the fears that know us by name and haunt us in the dark of the night become powerless when we know the fear of the Lord. And if this is not enough, we discover that perfect love casts out all fear. Not even God will hold us or control us by fear. When we fear Him, we in essence begin to live a life where we are fearless."

-Erwin McManus  (thas my pastor, yo!)

amen.

beautiful game

vince young is UCLA's friend

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

1st off, thanks for visiting.. As you can see, i deleted about 99.999999% of my blogs. cept for 2.. of course i did not edit my last post! debra did..  and NO i will NOT get a 'gay-space' cuz i have a life. not that i think you are gay.  i already spend between 5-8/24 hours sleeping.. plus.. time = $.. I'll update now n then.

on that note, God BLess and have a fresh 2006! Make some SMART goals and be ready to conquer and complete them