So I was doing some thinking the other day (I know, it was a scary experience), and I discovered something about the correlation between seasons of my life and my email addresses. It turns out that I seemed to always change my email address (for whatever reasons) at about the same time that a season of my life was changing. Let's take a walk down the past 12 years...
Winter-ish 1997 - I had been out of high school for about 8 months or so, and had been saved for just over a year. I experienced my first Winterfest (in Lancaster, PA!!) and had discovered that there was more to serving Jesus than just attending church; He wanted me to actually live for Him! Getting saved was great, but living for God became a whole new & wonderful thing. At some point we had gotten a computer at home and I was finally able to connect to the internet. My very first email address was DrwMeCls2U@aol.com (stands for Draw Me Close to You, just like the song). It defined the passion of my heart and my first steps in this thing called Christianity.
Summer 1999 - I found out that I was accepted to join a program called Master's Commission, a 9 month discipleship program for college students. I had never dreamed that this kind of thing would actually happen to me, eventhough I had hoped for it for over 2 years. I had no idea how I was going to pay for it, how I would get there, what I would do if things didn't work out, or what I would do afterwards. All I knew is that I was about to do something amazing that I desired to do with all of my heart. That summer I chaged my email to Sparky35n6@yahoo.com (from Proverbs 3:5-6, "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."), just because I wanted a cool new address. Two weeks before I was to leave for MCDC, with no money to pay for the year at all and hardly any support from home, I started to pack up my stuff. I simply stepped out in faith and trusted what I felt God was telling me to do. That year marked the start of an incredible change in my life. My relationship with God grew so much deeper and stronger - I have never been the same since.
Sometime in 2002 - I had spent 3 years with MCDC, was the Assistant Director of the program, and was facing a lot of changes related to the future of that program - where were we going to live, what was our name going to be, will we still have financial support, are we going to have to close down? At some point during that year, and for some unknown reason, I changed my email to Sparx1925@yahoo.com (from Job 19:25, "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will stand at last on the earth." aka my favorite verse). The only thing that I knew to be constant was God and that hope that I had in my Redeemer. We moved our operations to the campgrounds in Columbia, MD and the program stayed alive for 2 more years before we closed it down on our terms. I stayed in the area and ended up getting a job with the school system working at an Outdoor Education Center and renting an apartment with a friend of mine. I was now trying to figure out what to do with my life and where to go from that point.
Summer 2005 - I was getting ready to move from Pasadena, MD to Westminster, MD and I had no clue what I was going to do when I got there. I was excited about moving to a new area where there were people that already knew...kinda. Before the move, I changed my email yet again, to carpe_deo@yahoo.com (carpe meaning to seize, deo meaning God). In the midst of all the uncertainty, God was the One person that I continued to hold onto. I ended up working part time for the Westminster Church of God, and then full time as the Youth Pastor, and finally switching roles as the Discipleship Pastor/part time substitute teacher.
Looking back on those different periods of life and the particular emails that I have had, I can see how God was speaking to me and carrying me into the next season. I can even see how those periods reflect the seasons of nature. We all go through these seasons if we will pay attention to it - and not all seasons are as fun and fruitful as others.
DrwMeCls2u: Spring - New life, excitement, growth
Sparky35n6: Summer - Continued growth, a time for breaking from normal routine of life.
Sparx1925: Fall - Growth isn't as visible, change is happening, low enthusiasm
carpe_deo: Winter - Not much activity, growth drastically slows down, few periods of excitement. (that is not to say that life at Westminster has been horrible, cause I have enjoyed being here so far - only that personally, things have been a little life-less...if that makes sense.)
So my seasons seem to last about 3 years before changing to a new one. And here I am standing on the brink of a new season, with a new email address. I can honestly say that I did not see a new season coming and decide that it would be cool to change my email. I decided to change my email (out of what I feel God saying to me) and after seeing a pattern from my past, can discern that God is getting ready to change my season. What excites me is that the next season in the cycle is spring, and with it, comes the potential for amazing things.
There is more that I'm sure I could share, but I know that I've gone long enough. Based on my previous post, and what God has been speaking, my new email address is silentecho27. If you are one of my regular contacts, you will be getting an email very soon about this change. If you want to know why I'm changing it, just read the really long post before this really long post!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
the silent echo
My favorite quote from the the movie Gladiator has always been, "What you do in this life echoes in eternity". That line has stuck with me over the past 8 years. I have always liked the word echo and planned on using it someday as the name of something: ministry, youth group, leadership track, ...something. Within the last month or so, I have really started to try to define what echo exactly stands for; what it communicates; what it looks like. I didn't just want to have a cool name that only had a movie quote standing behind it - I wanted it to have an idea, a message.
Obviously (or not), the first thing that I started to work on was a logo (and yes, I tried to somehow include an oval or a swoosh). I probably went through about 8 or 9 different ideas (and lots of different fonts) before I found one that I think I want to settle with. Keep in mind, it's still early, so things might change.
If only you could see the evolution of this thing, and what I went through to come up with it. Anyway, once I had a base idea, I started to think about what the logo and the word echo communicates. Influence, character, ongoing, representation, confidence - those were just the first couple things that came to mind. I tried to kick into "acronym mode", but "h" is a really hard letter to come up with a word for - at least in this context. I still haven't nailed anything down yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to post it. So then I moved onto finding a good definition for echo. An echo is: a call to mind; to repeat or imitate; an imitative reproduction (that one just sounds cool); reflect. It's basically a reflection or copy of a sound - a product that is created because of the influence of a source, that carries the same characteristics of the original influence.
The most obvious spiritual application is that Jesus Christ (the inlfuence) came from the Father (the source), as an example, to teach us how to live a godly life. The goal of our lives as Christians is to be Christ-like, or to be echoes of Christ - imitative reproductions. Epehsians 5:1-2 says that we are to "Follow God's example in everything you do, because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ." or in another version, "Be imitators of God..." So basically, we should be echoing Jesus through everything that we do. Sounds cool, right?
Yes, but I want to take it a step further. Not only should we be echoes of Christ in this world, but I believe we should also be creating echoes of our own - echoes that will influence those around us. We need to leave an influence on the world that will outlive us. Titus 2:7 says, "And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good deeds of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching." The Apostle Paul is telling us that we should be setting an example by the lives that we live, and those examples need to reflect what we say we believe. As one influential person once put it, we need to turn our theology into our biography. Not only are we being examples of the Savior that we serve, but we are also passing on that example to the world around us. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul also says, "Follow me as I follow Christ." He is not just following the example of Another, but he is calling others to follow that example as well.
So we need to reflect Christ in our lives, and set that example before others for them to follow as well. But there is still one more thing that needs to be clarified. Primarily echoes are repeats of a sound that is made; in other words, they are something that you can actually hear. If you recall, Titus 2:7 tells us to be an example by doing good deeds, not by talking about them or telling others to be an example. If actions speak louder than words, then I believe our lives send out a message that is much louder than anything we could ever say. The message that our life communicates, that doesn't come from our words, is what creates our real echo...a silent echo. The questions we all need to ask ourselves are, "What is my life really saying?" and "Is it worth echoing?"
So finally I come to the end of all of this, which is actually the beginning of something new. If you will notice, the address for this blog is silentecho27.blogspot.com. Silent echo for the unheard message of our lives, and 27 for Titus 2:7. So there it is - what God has been saying to me lately, and I think where He is taking me...I'm just not sure exactly what it's going to look like.
All of us have a silent echo, what is your's saying?
Obviously (or not), the first thing that I started to work on was a logo (and yes, I tried to somehow include an oval or a swoosh). I probably went through about 8 or 9 different ideas (and lots of different fonts) before I found one that I think I want to settle with. Keep in mind, it's still early, so things might change.
If only you could see the evolution of this thing, and what I went through to come up with it. Anyway, once I had a base idea, I started to think about what the logo and the word echo communicates. Influence, character, ongoing, representation, confidence - those were just the first couple things that came to mind. I tried to kick into "acronym mode", but "h" is a really hard letter to come up with a word for - at least in this context. I still haven't nailed anything down yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to post it. So then I moved onto finding a good definition for echo. An echo is: a call to mind; to repeat or imitate; an imitative reproduction (that one just sounds cool); reflect. It's basically a reflection or copy of a sound - a product that is created because of the influence of a source, that carries the same characteristics of the original influence. The most obvious spiritual application is that Jesus Christ (the inlfuence) came from the Father (the source), as an example, to teach us how to live a godly life. The goal of our lives as Christians is to be Christ-like, or to be echoes of Christ - imitative reproductions. Epehsians 5:1-2 says that we are to "Follow God's example in everything you do, because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ." or in another version, "Be imitators of God..." So basically, we should be echoing Jesus through everything that we do. Sounds cool, right?
Yes, but I want to take it a step further. Not only should we be echoes of Christ in this world, but I believe we should also be creating echoes of our own - echoes that will influence those around us. We need to leave an influence on the world that will outlive us. Titus 2:7 says, "And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good deeds of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching." The Apostle Paul is telling us that we should be setting an example by the lives that we live, and those examples need to reflect what we say we believe. As one influential person once put it, we need to turn our theology into our biography. Not only are we being examples of the Savior that we serve, but we are also passing on that example to the world around us. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul also says, "Follow me as I follow Christ." He is not just following the example of Another, but he is calling others to follow that example as well.
So we need to reflect Christ in our lives, and set that example before others for them to follow as well. But there is still one more thing that needs to be clarified. Primarily echoes are repeats of a sound that is made; in other words, they are something that you can actually hear. If you recall, Titus 2:7 tells us to be an example by doing good deeds, not by talking about them or telling others to be an example. If actions speak louder than words, then I believe our lives send out a message that is much louder than anything we could ever say. The message that our life communicates, that doesn't come from our words, is what creates our real echo...a silent echo. The questions we all need to ask ourselves are, "What is my life really saying?" and "Is it worth echoing?"
So finally I come to the end of all of this, which is actually the beginning of something new. If you will notice, the address for this blog is silentecho27.blogspot.com. Silent echo for the unheard message of our lives, and 27 for Titus 2:7. So there it is - what God has been saying to me lately, and I think where He is taking me...I'm just not sure exactly what it's going to look like.
All of us have a silent echo, what is your's saying?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
