Trying to be Catholic in High School

Until I began to attend college at the age of 18, I had never been to a school that would be considered "public".  I had gone to a Catholic grade school from pre-school to 8th grade, then a Catholic high school for 9th-12th grade.  While I enjoyed my time in those schools and have many fond memories, I feel like there was something missing.  Mainly, a Catholic education.

Now, I did take religious classes while in high school, and they were very informative.  I learned about Church History, the Old and New Testament, and other things that frankly, I've forgotten.  At the time, this was all good information, but reflecting on that time in my life makes me think that my Catholic life was lacking something.

You're probably thinking, Well, did you go to youth group, like Lifeteen or EDGE?  I did attend EDGE in 6th grade for a while, but stopped when it was moved from Wednesday nights to Sunday nights after the Lifeteen Mass.  I only ever attended  3 Lifeteen nights for Confirmation, because again, they were on Sunday nights.  At my house, Sunday night was family night, because it was usually the only time during the week where all of us could actually have a meal together in our home and not a baseball field.  Besides, my parents were not fans of the Lifeteen Mass.  "Too much hand waving" my father would say, "and they do back flips on the altar" (it only happened once).

I don't blame my parents for not feeling on fire for the faith like some of my friends.  They wanted to make sure I had a good education and would learn in a Catholic environment.  It's not their fault I didn't feel a stronger connection to Christ until I was 19 years old.

Still, I wish my Catholic schools had put more effort into helping us develop a relationship with Christ.  We learned the prayers, the history and how to meditate, but we didn't get many opportunities to spend an hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament or talk in small groups.  It makes sense that we didn't do those things very often, but I wish the opportunity was there.

I can't put all the blame on my schools, because I was never the model of Catholic holiness.  Sure, I didn't drink or smoke in school, but still tended to focus my efforts on my worldly life rather than my spiritual.  I spent a lot of time trying to impress or keep up with my friends, many of whom did grow up in the faith.  They are all excellent human beings who are doing wonderful things in this world, but they weren't the ones who would bring me to Christ.  Those people came later.

Back to what I was saying about my schools; it wasn't like they weren't trying.  My high school had an excellent priest on staff who was filled with God's love and holiness and who I greatly admire.  The same goes for the priests who were at my grade school.  They were all great men of the faith and tried to help us connect with God and the Bible.

I found out that my old Catholic schools were attempting to increase holiness after I'd left (hmmm maybe it was me who was holding them back...).  My grade school now has Friday morning mass for the whole school and my high school has prayer over the loud speakers before each class starts.  While I'm not too crazy about the preclass prayers (I think they could come up with some other ideas), having Mass every Friday sounds awesome to me!  While it may not appeal to the kids in the school, I hope that at least some of them take that opportunity to continue moving towards Christ.

And luckily for me, I found the Newman Center when I came to college.  Though it took a bit of time for me to get involved, I had 4 amazing years being a part of the Newman and feel stronger in my faith than I've ever felt.  However, I still have a long ways to go and I hope that during my year of service, I'll be more in tune with that God has planned for me.

CB Anime Review:BECK Mongolian Chop Squad

What I love about anime is the range of shows that can be found.  Seriously, people can make an anime about pretty much anything!  You want an anime about people fighting over half-priced bento?  Sure!  You want an anime about people who get turned into animals when hugged by the opposite gender? Done!  But besides those random examples, there are of great animes out there that just take ordinary ideas and make them extraordinary.  A great example of this is one of my favorite animes of all time, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad.

At the beginning of this show, we meet 14 year old Koyuki, who no longer finds meaning in life, until he saves the dog of a rock musician, Ryusuke.  After seeing Ruysuke play guitar, Koyuki decides to learns to play, eventually becoming a guitarist and vocalist for Ryusuke's new band BECK (named after his dog).

Basically, this is the story of an emerging rock band, who is trying to make it big in the world of music, and dealing with the struggles along the way.  Then throw in a side story about Beck's real owner, a cute love story and some amazing music, and you've got one of the best animes I've ever seen!

The main reasons that I enjoyed BECK is because of it's roots.  The creator Harold Sakuishi got a lot of ideas for this show from real bands and musicians and created sounds and characters from those influences.  The main singer/rapper for BECK, Chiba, is based off of Zach de la Rocha from Rage Against The Machine and the Red Hot Chilli Pepper's Flea inspired BECK's bassist Taira; no shirt and everything.

The characters in BECK are all very cool, so I'm not going to bother with character descriptions, because I feel like I wouldn't be able to do them justice in this review.  I would probably need another article in order to describe all 6 main characters in enough detail, and tell you about the some of the major side characters.  All you need to know is that the characters in BECK are well developed, and I love each of them!

Now, here's the low point of BECK; the art.  It isn't bad, most of the time, but there are some moments where you feel like it's pulling a Neon Genesis "we're out of money" moment.  Also, since BECK's shows take place in the same music club most of the time, footage is reused pretty frequently.  It gets better later in the series, but you can pretty easily tell where they were cutting the budget.

However, who needs great animation when you have the power of ROCK!  Really, the music is the highlight of BECK, and this anime wouldn't be the same without its rockin soundtrack.  All the music played in BECK is original, so it's not like you're watching anime Glee.  You'll hear fantastic guitar riffs, excellent drumming, and one of the best sounding basses out there.  Plus, the vocals were extremely well done.  This is a show where you should probably listen to the dub rather than the sub, because the lyrics are either in Japanese or broken English.  However,
Here's an example.  This is one of my favorite songs from the series, Follow Me.
First the Sub:

Now the Dub (Sorry, I couldn't find a dubbed video on Youtube for some weird reason:

If you decide to watch the entire series, I would recommend the dub because you'll probably enjoy it more.

There are a couple covers of well known songs sprinkled throughout the series, along with a few cameos from some artists everyone should recognize.  Even if you're not a big rock fan, you can enjoy the music of BECK.

Besides, while the music is great, the heart of this story is its main character Koyuki, and his attempt to find out who he is and where he wants to go in life, which is something we've all felt.  Sure, he faces struggles and defeats along the way, but that is what makes this story so great.  We get to see BECK fall down, but continue to get back up again, slowly making its way to rock stardom.

At some point in the future, I want to make my own "10 Animes Everyone Should See" and obviously BECK will be on there.  It's a series that I can watch over and over again and still find enjoyment while watching.  I hope that you will enjoy it as well.

You know what, to help you, here's the opening.  If this doesn't get you interested, I don't know what will.

Peace and Love

"You Should Become a Priest" So I've Been Told

This statement is one that I've heard so many times in my life that I lost count.  Seriously though, I'm tired of that sentence, because it is very confusing.  Some guys will know what I talking about.  Others will not, and everyone else will probably not care about my internal struggles to serve God as best I can, but they don't write on this blog, so forget them.  How about we start at the beginning.......

I started hearing this when I came to college 4 years ago.  I remember one particular instance that had a huge affect on me during my sophomore year.  I had just turned 20 years old and was having a quarter life crisis.  Everyone around me seemed to be putting their lives together and had bright futures in front of them.  I however had no plans, no ideas, and was in funk.  So I decided that the best way to vent my frustration was to post it on Facebook (because that's always a good idea).  Some people commented with pity and encouragement, but one person commented something along the lines of "Have you considered the priesthood?"

Boom.

That sent me over the edge.  Now my head was filled with even more confusion then before.  I began to question everything.  Should I drop out of college and join a seminary?  What if this is my calling?  What if it isn't my calling, but I become a priest anyway?  Is there any chance I'll find a spouse?  You have to understand that I wasn't used to talking to people about my problems, unless it involved girls, but that was something completely different.

The next couple of days were torture, as I went from class, to activities and to sleep, all the while these questions were floating in my head.  It got better over time, and eventually, I got past this sad stage in my life.  Then Thanksgiving came around, and I thought that talking to my mom about this  issue might help me.  I was still really nervous and kept putting the conversation off until the night before Thanksgiving.  I was peeling apples at the table when she mentioned that she ran into the priest at my old Catholic high school, and that he believed I would make a really good priest.  Boom.  Here we go again.  I started tearing up and told her my struggle.  We talked it out, and she told me I didn't need to make any decisions right away; it would take time, so I should just live my life and pray for guidance.  I felt better, and went back to my normal, non-discernment life.

Over the next couple years, people continued to ask me about the priesthood.  Friends made jokes, acquaintances asked questions, and current priest called me out in front of the entire Newman Center, just because I made a reference to the Second Vatican Council in a speech.  I tried to not let it bother me and currently it doesn't, but I'll talk about that later.

Here's the thing.  I'm not against the priesthood.  I could possibly see myself as priest in the future, but I don't know if that is my vocation.  When I was younger, joining the priesthood seemed so abnormal to me.  I considered myself a pretty abnormal teen, who didn't always have the typical teen experiences, or when I did, they happened later than everyone else.  I didn't want to be abnormal anymore, so I was pretty dead set against becoming a priest.  It was also because it was always me who was asked.  No one ever joked about it with my other Newman friends or called them out as potential priests.  Though it's probably not true, but it still hurt.

Things have changed for me these past couple years.  As I began to spend my time the priests at the Newman Center, saw what it really means to be a priest of the Catholic Church.  They have a connection with God I could only dream of having and what they do is pretty amazing.  I probably wouldn't be the greatest American priest of all time, but I could be a decent one if God guided me.  However, there is the alternative.....

Honestly , I'd love to be a dad.  Like I said, I've been hearing how "good" a priest I would be for a long time, but only once did I hear another calling.  My friend and I hanging out one night at our friend's bad punk band concert.  After talking for a while, she said something I thought I would never hear.  She said "You're going to make a great dad someday" (She's married by the way, so that ain't happening) and I was so happy.  Finally, someone saw something in me besides a potential priest.  I had always wanted to be a dad, but due to a lack of female companion, I thought it would be a very long time before River and Tyler would be brought into the world (potential kid names, you like?).  Still, the dream was still alive and even though I might have been called to the priesthood, I was just happy that someone believed in me.

I still don't know where God is calling me.  I prayed about this issue a couple months ago, and while God didn't spell out "PRIESTHOOD" in huge letters in the sky, He also hasn't sent someone who I could spend the rest of my life with (not that I know of anyway).  So, I'm keeping an open mind about this, and waiting to see where God is calling me.  To me, becoming a husband and dad, is just as important role in the Church as becoming a priest, because while the Church needs good priests, it also needs good fathers.

For now, I'll continue to pray, so that one day, I can look back and see how God used me to bring others to His kingdom, which is my real purpose in life.  I mean, I could possibly stay single for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy caring for others and doing God's work.  That is what God and I can agree upon.

Peace and Love

CB Anime Review: Soul Eater

I'm sorry, this is the best picture I could find

This is a review that I've been debating about for a long time.

You see, I created this blog to share ideas, shows, etc with ANYONE who stumbles upon it, and for that reason, I feel like the content should be stuff I would recommend to anyone.  Yes, some of the animes I've reviewed on this blog may have elements people might not like, but overall, they're great animes that anyone could sit down and enjoy if they felt inclined.

However, while Soul Eater is a great anime, there are elements people might not like about it.  I'll do my best to explain these elements, and after reading this you feel like this anime might not be the right one for you, I completely understand.  So, with the introduction out of the way, lets talk about Soul Eater!

Our story takes place at Death Weapon Meister Academy (DWMA), a school created by Death.

See, does he reeeaaaalllllyyyy look all that evil?

BOOM OK, here we go.  First problem.  While thinking about what could be seen as an evil presence in this anime, Death the big one.  When thinking about the personification of death, Satan or the Devil might be the first things to pop into one's mind, but that isn't Death in Soul Eater.  His other name is the Grim Reaper, and he isn't the lord of the underworld.  He's kind of like Thanatos from Greek mythology, whose job is to guard the boundary between life and death, and make sure dead people stay dead.  And that is pretty much what Death does in Soul Eater; he trains humans who can transform into weapons and meisters (humans trained to wield these weapons in battle) to stop evil from creating chaos on earth.

OK, with that out of the way, lets meet our main characters.  Since I don't want to give long character descriptions for every one, because there are quite a few, I'll give you the highlights.

Maka: Meister. Kind, sweet and a great fighter.  If I were to make a "Top 10 Most Badass Female Anime Characters" list she would be pretty high up.

Soul: Maka's partner.  Can transform into a scythe.  Laid back and likes to chill, but loyal to Maka and his friends.

Black Star: Meister.  Loudmouth ninja, but probably the most powerful character in terms of raw strength.  While he may seem arrogant and annoying the first time you meet him in episode 2, don't let that stop you from watching the series, because I promise he gets better over time.

Tsubaki: Black Star's partner.  Can transform into several ninja weapons, including a ninja sword and throwing star.  She's the yin to Black Star's yang, as she has a very calming presence and sweet personality.

Death the Kid: Death's son and Grim Reaper like his father.  He's obsessed with symmetry, which causes problems for him in battle.  While he's not big on showing affection, Kid is a good friend and teammate.

Liz and Patty Thompson: Kid's partners who can transform into semi-auto pistols.  Liz is cynical and Patty is childish, but they work well together with Kid and with the group.

There are also a number of great side characters, including Death, Maka's father, teachers, witches and other DWMA students.

Oh ya and there's also this guy, I mean weapon..........

Ya, isn't he great!  Seriously, even if you don't like this series, watch the first Excalibur episode, because it is hilarious!  If you don't watch it, then you're a FOOL!

Something nice that the creators did was give each main character and their partner their own episode at the beginning of the series, so that we can properly meet them and see what they can do.  Like I said before, if you don't like Black Star after watching episode 2 JUST KEEP WATCHING.  I promise he gets better.

While the main story of Soul Eater takes a little time to get going, when it gets going, it really gets going.  There's lots of great fights, some heartfelt moments, and enough suspense to make you want to watch more.  Of course not every episode can have a huge Dragonball Z battle.  Some episodes are a little tamer, focusing more on comedy than action.  Like there' s an entire episode about the gang preparing and taking a final exam.  Who does that in an anime?  Soul Eater does apparently.  Still, the plot always manages to be interesting, right up to the beginning of the finale, when it really gets going and you can't wait for the end!


Now, while the animation on Soul Eater isn't as crisp as other shonen animes, I think it suits the feel of this show perfectly.  While this anime does deal with serious ideas and problems, its also a show where Death acts like your wacky uncle.  It's a little cartoony, but it still looks great and doesn't diminish the quality of the show.  One feature that I feel like the animators put a lot of extra work into was the sun and moon, who actually have faces and appear in more episodes then some of the side characters.

Soul Eater also had a great soundtrack  to accompany its many fight scenes. My personal favorite track was the series' first opening song, Resonance by TM Revolution.  This theme really got me ready to watch an episode.  No matter how slow an episode might be, listening to the minute and a half theme was enough to keep me satisfied until the next episode, which is probably the reason why it is probably one of my favorite anime theme songs of all time!

Now remember those ideas I was talking about earlier that might lead some to believe that this anime was not something religious people should watch?  Well, here's a few more for you.

One character in particular makes a lot of references to God, saying that his goal is to surpass Him.  My answer to this is that he doesn't, even though he might believe he did.  Just watch the very end and you'll get it.

There are also two characters who are not the kind of adults you want your kids to hang out with.  One is Maka's dad, Spirit, who has no chance of winning Father of the Year, and Blair, a cat that can turn into a human, who appears without clothes on a few times throughout the series.  Don't worry, Blair doesn't show up too much (and she's usually clothed), and Spirit is one of the best side characters in the show, and is voiced by one of my favorite voice actions of all time, Vic Mignogna.

So, besides that, there isn't really anything bad about Soul Eater, except for the reasonable amount of blood you would expect from a show like this.  Like I said, if anything here turned you off to Soul Eater, don't watch it.  I understand, but hope that you would at least watch 3-4 episodes.  They're all on Netflix, so give them a try!  There are a lot great themes in this show, like love, forgiveness and acceptance, that give Soul Eater a heart and soul.

So, by releasing this review, I will be ending my internal debate on whether reviewing Soul Eater would be a good idea.  I still want to share quality shows and ideas with you, so don't worry, this won't be a slippery slope which ends with my recommending less appropriate show.  So go and enjoy this show, and don't forget a sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body.

Peace and Love

Hallelujah

For some reason, I had the biggest urge to listen to one of my favorite songs today, Hallelujah.  Honestly, I hadn't listened to it in a while, but I felt called to just listen to as many versions of this song as possible.  It was probably the best decision I made all day, because after a morning of feeling anxious and antsy, this song put me into a place of peace.  It's a beautiful song that has been covered by hundreds of artists, but still maintains its beauty after all this time.

Now, when I say hundreds of artist, I mean hundreds, including quite a few well known names.  You have the cover that everyone knows by Jeff Buckley, the wonderful rendition by KD Lang and a fun surprise for me, a cover by Bon Jovi!

Then, there is the classic.  The original.  Hallelujah sung by Leonard Cohen.  With his gravelly voice and simple sound, to me, this Hallelujah is the best Hallelujah.

Though it is not one of the Top 10 Covered Songs (for that, you'll have to look here: http://mentalfloss.com/article/20811/quick-10-10-most-covered-songs-ever).  Hallelujah has been covered by a pretty impressive number of people, as mentioned before.  To add a couple more names to that list; Bobo, Justin Timberlake and Cee Lo Green (as a Voice judge) all have Hallelujah covers.  So many people have done this song, and everyone who does it brings something special to Hallelujah.  Everyone is saying the same words (mostly) and the music follows the same progression for each version; the minor fall and the major lift as described in the song, but there is something special in each version, as if the singer is bearing their soul to the world through Hallelujah.

In a way, this song is just like our connection with God.  No two people's relationship with God is exactly the same, but in the end, we are all here in the presence of God, loving Him and calling His name (whoa, that rhymed).  So, everyone may follow the same lyrics and tempo of this song, but what God hears in our hearts is our own unique beautiful sound..

For some, their relationship with God might be like Bob Dylan's Hallelujah.  They may not be fully connected with God, but the feeling and relationship are still there.

Or yours could be Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah.  The relationship can be nerve racking in the beginning, but eventually, you find the right chord and fall into a state of bliss.

You could have a Willie Nelson relationship.  Sure, it can be a little rough at times, but overall, it is beautiful and uplifting.

Finally, you could be the person who has a Rejina Spektor relationship.  It's something that starts out sweet and innocent, but as time goes on, transforms into something mature and beautiful.

Of course, there are plenty of other great Hallelujah covers out there and all beautiful just like our relationship with God.  In fact, here is an article of the "15 Greatest 'Hallelujah' Covers" so that you can continue to search for and dive deeper into your own Hallelujah.  That's what I'm going to be, because this song speaks of something that is sad but hopeful.  We all go through hard times, but this song reminds us that things will get better, as long as we have God and continue to love Him.  

CB Anime Review: Clannad + Clannad After Story

I'm not a huge fan of romance animes.  Sure, I like it when a show has a romance element to it, like Edward and Winry in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, but I find most romance animes to be realllllyyyy cheesy and sometimes unbearably awkward.  However, during my long and uneventful summer break, I decided to go ahead and try an anime that I've heard great things about and was a total romantic anime.  I should clarify; I decided to finish an anime that I'd heard great things about (I'll explain more later).  I didn't know what to expect from this show, except that pretty much everyone who watched it, loved it, and guess what, I loved it too!  Not Clannad specifically, but the combination of Clannad and Clannad: After Story.  Here's why.....

Our protagonist is Tomoya, a high school delinquent whose life consists of skipping class and hating his hometown.  This changes however when he meets Nagisa, a girl in his class who is repeating his senior year and Tomoya ends up helping Nagisa  find the courage to go to school.  Eventually the two become friends and they attempt to restart the school's Drama Club.  Along the way, Tomoya meets and helps several other girls at school with their problems while dealing with his own struggles.

I began this anime at some point before the summer began, but after the first story arc ended, I got bored and decided to stop.  I picked it up again a few weeks ago and began to tear through episodes.  For you see, my goal was not to finish Clannad, my goal was to watch Clannad: After Story.  Before I get into that, lets talk about why people seem to enjoy the Clannad series.

First, the characters.  While some characters lack proper development, all of the main and side characters in Clannad get ample amounts of screen time, so that we can properly meet and enjoy them.  Clannad starts off as a one girl per story arc show, where Nagisa and Tomoya try to get a girl to join the Drama Club and end up helping her in some way.  It could be overcoming a personal issue or doing something nice for them.  The formula gets picked up and dropped several times in the series, which wasn't bad, because it allows us to focus on other aspects of the show, like Tomoya's and Nagisa's relationship.

There isn't that much I need to say about each individual character, since they're pretty bland in the beginning.  Tomoya is a delinquent, Nagisa is sweet and clumsy and..... well, you'll learn about the rest.  Like I said, there isn't too much development initially, but each character becomes endearing in their own way.

The art  of Clannad is very stylized, with everything very bright and tall.  The being said, there isn't anything super spectacular about Clannad's design.  Most characters, especially the girls have similar body types and can only be told apart by their different colored hair.  Still, it did the job that was needed, so I didn't have any problems with Clannad's art.

Overall, Clannad is a good anime.  It's funny, has a good cast of characters and gives you the warm fuzzies.  It's also predictable, like most romance anime.  You know who is going to end up with whom at the end, pretty much from the beginning, and so you're just watching the show to see how they eventually say the "L" word to each other.


HOWEVER, Clannad decided to go beyond your normal romance anime and show us what life is like after finding the one you love in Clannad: After Story.  Like I said in the beginning, After Story is where the beauty of Clannad really shines.  It follows Tomoya and Nagisa as the finish high school and eventually start their life together.  This leads to a whole slew of problems that you don't see in your typical romance anime, and it totally works.  It shows that romance can leave high school, and lead to a life you would have never imagined.  Though there are a few sad moments in Clannad, After Story will make the manliest man break down into tears.  It really shows that life won't always turn out the way you expect, but its how you deal with these challenges that makes you into a better person. Tomoya learns that in After Story, but you'll have to watch to see if he gets the happy ending he deserves.

Besides the normal Clannad story, there's a side story about The Last Girl on Earth and the mechanical doll she builds and comes to life.  I promise you that it will be explained at some point.  There are also 2 "What if" episodes, meaning, "what if Tomoya decided to date one of the other girls he eventually makes friends with?"  You can ignore them if you so choose, but I enjoyed them a lot and kind of wish that they would have expanded those two episodes into their own mini series.


Not everyone is going to be interested in Clannad, and that's OK.  I didn't think I would like romance animes either, and though I've found some really great ones recently, I've also found some pretty boring ones.  My general rule of anime is to watch at least 3 episodes, and if I still don't like it after that, I don't feel bad about stopping.  Again, After Story is the real draw to the show, so enjoy the 1st season as fast as you can, so you can see why everyone loves this anime!

For being a romance anime, Clannad is pretty tame, so just watch it!  The entire series is on Hulu, so don't wait watch Clannad and join the hundreds of fans who have had their hearts broken! Yay!

Peace and Love

Get On My Level

So, I am currently sitting my official parish office, typing on my official computer with the official parish dish washer is doing its thing on the other side of the official wall.  So, this is ministry life.  I like it.

I haven't had that much to do since it is my first week and my pastor was out of town until Thursday.  I have been taking the time to do research and find materials for projects and endeavors I hope to do this year.  I've checked the USCCB website, done Google searches, looked at Reddit.....for a couple hours, and while it's all good stuff, I'm still a little lost in terms of what to do for now. That's OK, because these things will take time.

One of the roles I'll have in the parish is evangelization.  Basically, I'm going to be the one trying to get people interested in the Church.

We're doomed.

No, I have enough faith in myself that I will be able to do this, but I'm going to have to really work hard.  My goal won't be to make people immediately join the Church, but if they did that would be wonderful.  My goal is to teach others about the Church and why it is great to be a part of a Catholic community.  If people were rushing into the Church like it was the end of the world, they would be entering the Church uninformed, and one thing that the Catholic Church does not need is uninformed Catholics.  You don't have to have a Masters in Theology, but it would be nice if people knew the basics; 10 Commandments, Jesus' death and resurrection, all that fun stuff.

But back to the main issue; I'M going to have to convince people that the Catholic Church is a great place to be.  ME!  Maybe if Mark Walberg was standing next to me, I would be able to generate some interest, but I'm not the best spokesperson for the Catholic faith.  How am I going to convince people that being a Catholic is something special?

Well, I could do what Jesus did.  No, I don't mean making the blind see and turning water into wine (though that would lower my bar tab quite a bit).  No, should follow Jesus' example of being with the people; getting on their level.  I mean, when you think about it, Jesus literally did get on our level.  He came down from heaven so that He could be with us and bring us salvation.  He literally got as low as you could get in Jewish society, a carpenter, so that he could preach to everyone, rich or poor, and connect to their lives and their struggles.

See, everyone in Jewish society knew that a Messiah was coming, but everyone had different ideas as to what the he would look like.  Some groups, like the Pharisees and the Sadducees thought He would be a great scholar and keeper of the law, while the Zealots thought He would be a great warrior who would come help liberate the Jewish people from Roman rule.  You can imagine everyone surprise when a lowly carpenter went around claiming to be their long awaited savior and how mad they were about this turn of events.

This makes sense, because God does not give us what we want, He gives us what we need, and what we needed was a carpenter for a Messiah.  He could talk with pretty much anyone He wanted.  He would go to anyone who needed Him.  He could have followers who were just like Him; normal working class people.    And He accepted everyone.  That is the kind of Messiah that we have and that is how I can attempt to reach others.

I've always considered myself a pretty good listener, and I hope that by listening to others, I can help understand them and the role God has for them.  I guess that it would also be important to let the people come to me.  I'm not going to Mormonize my ministry and go door to door.  Instead, I just want be available and inviting to others.  I haven't talked about my plans for Evan with my pastor/boss yet, but hopefully he will be able to give me some ideas.  I also don't know what type of evangelization I will be doing, so I'll have to adjust based on the situation.  Any advice/tips would be appreciated!

My Discipleship is only beginning, but I see so many possibilities for the future.  Some are grand and won't probably be achieved during my time here, but there are others that I could start and make sure that they continue after I'm gone.  All I really hope to do this year is love and serve like Jesus, because that is His call for us.

Peace and Love

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