Train of Thought 2013

Well boys and girls we have come to the portion of the show where I have run out of prepared blogs, and don't have one cohesive thought for today's entry.  So instead you will get some nuggets that have been rattling around in my head (I will let you decided what the nuggets are comprised of)

• I notice when I am content (not happy, not even joyous, but content, I sing  more) 
• The songs that get stuck in my head are never full songs, they are usually just a verse or a bridge.
• Although lately I have been singing "Jesus Loves Me." 
• When I was in high school, the worship band for the youth group did a rearrangement of "Jesus Loves Me"  This is the version that is stuck in my head.
• While I love "Jesus Loves Me" there is one verse that we sang that has a horribly theologically inaccurate verse in it:

                Jesus loves me when I am good
                When I do the things I should
                Jesus loves me when I am bad
                Even though it makes him sad
Now, I know that there are verses that speak of the Lord grieving over the sins of His people.  And I know that we are called to NOT sin so that Grace by abound.  But idea that my day to day actions, that my "being bad" somehow makes Jesus sad, that my mistakes, and slips, my willfully wrong actions, are on the same scale as a nation that has run after idols seems off to me.

God is not sad over my sins, He is grieved over my sins.  Not because He "misses me" or is upset we don't spend time together.  He is grieved because his beloved child is spending time/taking actions that move me away from what is good for me.  “When I am bad, I am making choices that exchange my connection to the love of God for actions that cloud, distort, cover, and blur the reality of God's love.

• I was offered an internship last week.  This internship was an outstanding opportunity, and would have fulfilled academic requirements as well as provided spiritual growth. I didn't get it.  However, I know that God has my best interest in mind.  He will lead me to the experiences that I need both practically and spiritually as I trust him to continue to mold me into the person he is making me.
• I am 37 and way too old to still be caring about movies based on comic books
• I am looking forward to seeing Captain America 2
• I think I am too excited for the new Agents of SHIELD television show
• I am  looking forward to seeing Bob and Becca in a couple of months
• I get to fly to Houston to spend time with my brother and his Sara, as well as my mom who is also flying to Houston
• Greek is harder than Hebrew
• After next week I will have completed one of my three classes for this semester-giving me even  more free time than I currently have.
• I should find things to do with this time other than watching New Girl on Netflix.
• I will be spending some of this time watching New Girl on Netflix
• Things I am not too old for: laughter, even at stupid things; rest; reading a good story, even if the main character has superpowers or lives on a distant planet; simple pleasures; simple joys; simple dreams
• Things I am too old for: playing basketball against 25 year olds, fast food and/or too much dairy; staying up past 10pm
• Things I will be doing on a weekly basis this semester: playing basketball against 25 year olds, eating fast food (and upgrading from a soda to a milkshake), staying up past 10pm
• I have been blessed by my relationship to many people over my 36 years of life.
• I will do my best to write more than a list next week

--Serving Him alongside all of you, just from farther away

--Jesse Letourneau