Live Out Loud

The End of an Era

it’s 5:30am and i’m still awake… why you might ask?
well it might be because i’m maddd excited that i’m going back to The Gambia in less than 2 days, or it might be from the 5 slices of pizza that i ate less than 3 hours ago, or maybe it’s the fact that we just finished watching The Prestige (which is a CRAZY movie go watch it!) But no… i think i know the real reason why…

Tonite is my FINAL night here in Foxridge living here in 9800.
Over the past 2 years there been some great times, lot’s of fun, laughter, joy, tears, struggles, praise, prayers, love, and overall great memories.

Looking back i’m so grateful for the time i got to spend here in this apartment, and i’m just reminded at how it all happened that i ended up here.

Freshmen year, Enoch and i lived together in our dorm in Pritchard. we applied to be roommates again sophomore year but soon found out that we were actually denied on campus housing. Now for me this was kind of exciting because i had actually wanted to move off campus but my parents wouldnt allow it, but then I realized that all the guys i wanted to move in with had already figured out their housing and roommates situation. Enoch was also worried because he wasnt sure how his financial aid would work with it.

But we started looking for roomates and actually found out that one of our hallmmates that we were pretty close to was also looking for roommates for the upcoming Fall, so we decided we would get a 3 person apartment together. Then one day, he messaged me about something personal, letting us know about a certain lifestyle that he had, just saying that he knew that Enoch & i were both Christian so he wanted us to know before we decided for sure to live together. We talked about it for a while and had to pray about it, but in the end realized that it’d probably be best to not live with one another and in that sort of situation, so we decided to look for other roommates.. I know we might have missed out on some great times with our hallmmate, but i am thankful that we are able to keep in touch even to this day with him and others from that awesome hall in first floor of Pritchard. Glad to say that we are still friends today and thankful for that.

We started to ask around CCF to see if anyone was still looking for roommates, and we found out that Alex, Anthony, and Mike were actually looking for 2 others for Foxridge. Now, i didn’t really know Anthony or Alex, and Mike i only knew very little bit through mutual friends in nova, but thought it’d might be cool to live with them so went for it. we applied and we were given (without even requesting) apartment 9800 F. little did we know what was ahead for us in this home. Not only was it near 6 other CCF apartments, it was RIGHT next door to one in 9700. so even with that, it’s great how God gave us the opportunity to be able to spend at least a year next door so close to a bunch of our older brothers who really discipled and loved on us, which definitely helped alot in growing and doing life together.

These past 2 years have definitely not just been easy, but it’s been great and i’ve really learned so much through my 4 roommates. From making the music video, to gogi parties, watching movies, praying together, each of them brought something to my life God truly used them to speak to me so i just wanted to write a little bit to each of them…

Alex- thank you so much for being so patient with me. I know im not the easiest guy to live next to, but your patience and gentleness with me really showed me how to grace and really love on others. im really gon miss having you right across the wall and all those awkward stares as one of us get out of the shower, the yelling for a candy crush life without getting out of our chairs, and especially those few times we got to really get deep with one another, opening up, and just being there for eachother. its been sweet and im gon miss living with you. i cant wait to see where God takes you next. you’re so gifted and blessed with the tools to succeed and ill be praying for you. love you bro.

Mike- minkeeeeeeeee. mannn you have such a great heart and true child-like faith. just seeing how you stepped up this past couple of years and really became a leader for Him was so encouraging. youre really diligent when it comes to work and responsibility and i think that really influenced me to be more responsible. im so thankful that i got to not only live with you but to serve with you for that whole year, and it was great just having you as a brother to pray for me, and your encouragements were always so uplifting. thank you for everything and gon miss you next year but i know you gon do great in work and in missions this summer. we got to keep in touch and even though you wont be in blacksburg, know that ill be praying for you. Congratulations and love you man!

Anthony- oh man what is there to say.. i seriously dont think ive ever laughed as much till it hurts than when im with you. you seriously are one of the most loving and caring guys i know. i remember how beginning of last year when i had no car and stuck alot at home, you let me use yours when i wanted to go somewhere. seriously mad thankful for that. you have brought me so much joy over the past couple of years whether it be playing sports with you, eating, watching the same move over and over for 2 weeks straight, or just talking to you about life and God, you’re someone i can just count on. i know you keep joking saying “this is the end” & “see you never” but you know ill be over at your house next year hanging out, or we’ll go out and throw the football and eat (60 nuggets again??) together alot, so yeah man, but i will miss living with you alot. love you brother.

last but not least, my roommie,Enoch..
bro. wow. we’ve really been through alot together huh? it’s crazy how fast time flies. 3 years ago we just found out you got in and were so excited we filled out our housing application the hour you got your acceptance email. i remember how we visited tech our senior year and we started figuring out how we were gon set up the room months before we even knew where we were living, and then all the memories from freshmen year, from you watching out for me to late night videos, rapping, meeting new friends, and just hanging out. Enoch, i cant tell you enough how thankful i am for you and to God for placing you in my life. living with you has been such a blessing for me and God really used you to teach me so much. i know we haven’t been the closest of friends these past 2 years but one things for sure, it’s been great having you in them. we’ve had some great times bro and it’s hard to imagine not living with you anymore. i hope we can still grow closer even though we’ll be under different roofs next year, but know that i’ll always be your brother and a friend you can depend on. i love you bro. roomies for life.

i realize now that 9800 is more than just this apartment building. it’s not just the set of rooms that we call our own, or even neighborhood for that matter. What 9800 has come to represent is what these brothers have meant to me over our time together, and all the other friends from the other apartments here in Foxridge. What made Foxridge such an amazing place to live wasn’t the gym, or the pond, swimming pool, or even the great field… Foxridge was and always will be the people. the community. the family. 

To all you guys living here next year, especially my brothers that taking over 9800. embrace that family. continue on this legacy and make it even better. take that next step and reach out to your neighbors and be missionaries to those that don’t know Him yet here, and exemplify Christ in all that you do. i pray that Foxridge would not only be a great and fun place to live together, but be a place where God is truly glorified and worshiped daily in. i can’t wait to see this place next year and im excited for you all and how God will work through you.

Even now as i finish this up at 6:15am i look and i see my freshmen (not freshmen anymore!) brothers all passed out in my room and it just reminds me of how great this years been being able to spend time with them. From the first time they slept over way back in September, all the disgusting amounts of food we consumed together over the year, the games/sports we played together, the prayers and conversations shared, to now here at the very end of the year spending one last night together as brothers in this room and looking forward to what’s to come. it’s crazy to see how fast these past 2 years and i cant help but get a little emotional… 

God taught me so much over these past two years through my brothers & sisters here in Foxridge and in CCF. it was truly a time of my life that i will look back on and remember with a huge heart and cherish forever. Thank you guys. i love you all. looking forward to what God has in store! :)

Let’s Goooo.

-Alex

i don’t know why but i wanted to say this…

spent alot of time looking back through old pictures & videos and just wanted to say this…

ODPC youth group, thank you. for those 4 amazing years i had the privilege to spend as a student in our family. Those years are where i really met Christ and developed a relationship with Him. Through the love of my brothers and sisters, the direction of my Pastors and small group leaders, i really learned what it meant to be a Christ-follower, and became passionate about Jesus and His love. Thank you for surrounding me with love, a community, and a place where i could come and not feel judged or worried about what others would think about me, but undignified and free in His name. it’s been almost 3 years now since i graduated, but not a day goes by that i don’t look back at those years and truly thank God for blessing me with such an amazing church family that have supported me through the worst of times.

yeah… i just wanted to write a bit of thanks and yeah…
i should start using tumblr again more often.

Peace & Love,

-alex

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

sometimes… you just need a good scream you know?

too bad i live in an apartment with the thinnest possible walls in the world. :P

God. i really need You right now. not that i ever don’t… but right now. please please grant me supernatural peace and comforting. amen.

-alex 

GREETINGS FROM THE GAMBIA!

Hello my wonderful friends & family!

you must be wondering how i got the chance to write and get on the internet and to be honest i really didn’t want to have connection until i got home next week but my hearts so overwhelmed and overjoyed i just had to share with all of you so i decided to blog it cause i know it’ll go to bookface and i don’t want to log in to that…

anyways, i know it’s only been about 6 days since coming to The Gambia but i feel like i’ve been here for years. i can finally see why it is that people have come multiple times to this beautiful place, and the testimonies i have heard time after time are finally living out true frfrom the youngest child to oldest brother here at Brikama compound, i feel so connected and loved on and i can genuinely call these brothers and sisters my family. our team has traveled to several different areas doing medical missions and everyone has been dilligent and serving with great joy even when we were in major muslim areas, we were able to stand strong and faithful to doing the work that God has given us. and even though it’s hot and we’re all dirty, i’ve never seen so many people so happy and joyful, and i can tell that God is truly touching everyone’s hearts greatly.

i have so many stories to share with you all but right now i want to get to eating lunch. it’s about 2pm here and at 3 we’ll be going to the futbol fields to cheer for our brother Pierre in his match. i really can’t wait to come home and share these great experiences but at the same i really don’t want to leave. i was sharing with a sister earlier today that if i could stay a few extra weeks i would without hesitating, but i know God has other plans for me back home and i look foward to meeting with you all soon!

a few prayer requests i have are:
-as i mentioned this place is amazing. truly a glimpse of heaven on earth, so please pray for our return nexdt week that we would be able to transition back smoothly and with joy and love

-please pray for the Muslim communities and areas here. one area we visited yesterday was very dark and definitely felt the spiritual battles happening. please pray for the men, women, and children in those places (one man named, Sekuba Dabo is a devout muslim that i had chance to pray for, please pray for his salvation)
-please pray for our missionaries here (Han family, John Park as he prepares to come home soon, and Rina as she prepares to come for a year)
-please pray for the Christians in The Gambia

Yes. that is all and i love you all! Yesu ye kanu le! (Jesus Loves you!)

peace & love.
-alex

IT’S TIME.

…although that statement is sorta not completely correct cause it should ALWAYS be “time” what i mean is IT’S TIMEEEE!

i can’tbelieve its already here but in about 12 hours my team will be heading out to Dulles airport and getting ready to board a plane heading over to The Gambia!!
these past few months of prep/training have been to say the least… different.

it hasnt been like my previous missions experience where we have months and months of training with team bonding, fundraising, learning, etc… actually the WHOLE team met together for FIRST time today. haha
but it’s funny because i pray over the team and trip and reflect over the trainings, i cant help but smile because although our team hasnt had real opportunity to bond, it’s TRULY the grace of God that allows us to love on one another and be a family, outside the blood and last names.

i cannot say how excited i am for these next 2 weeks but at the same time i am definitely a little anxious/worried/nervous… i been asking my teammates today if they were “excited” or “ready” and most of them have all been giving me same answer that they were actually “nervous” about different things… and to be honest i am nervous too. i’m nervous about my heart (comparing this to my previous trip to Africa to Malawi), nervous about the medical missions (being a dental assistant LOL), nervous about team bonding, nervous about keeping my attitude in check, nervous about my focus, and even nervous about not “being ready”…
yeah i know these are all things that the enemy is probably using to discourage me the night before but to be honest, again, i’m kinda using these to just remind myself how messed up i am but yet God uses me.
a sister sent me a letter this past week reminding me that i AM a son of the King and that He gives me my strength. to not remain defeated or discouraged but remember always that my Father is proud of me even in my shortcomings…
seriously this was a great reminder leading me into my trip tomorrow, cause it’s definitely gon be hard at times to always keep this reminded and loving heart, but i must remain patient and focused, and love the people around me.

she wrote me a verse that i’ll be keeping dear to my heart during the next few weeks, Ephesians 3:20.. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
this reminds me of the saying P.Sam shared with us going to Malawi back in ‘08… expect God to teach you twice as much as He’ll use you. i can’t wait to see what God’s got in store for us and to just have faith and trust that He will do more that we even expect, but at same time i KNOW He’ll teach us even more…

but today was a mixed emotions day. youth retreat left today and i went to see them off at church. this is the first youth retreat im missing in about 6 years (as a student or a counselor) so it was definitely tough watching them go not being on the busses but it was definitely so encouraging getting all the hugs and kind words from my brothers & sisters. to know that my family will be praying for me and i for them and knowing that the Spirit is going to DO WORK at retreat. LET’S GOOO!

we had our FINAL training/packing day/team meeting today. wefinished up packing the last of the bags (45 fifty pound bags in all o.O) and then headed over to tepanyaki buffet with the team. was a great night of bonding with the team and it made me realize even MORE how blessed i am to have especially the brothers i do on this team (nothing against the sisters.. love you all too but just even especially more excited for the brotherhood! ;P) but yes.. from the oldest to youngest brother of the group, i already feel such a strong bond with all of them and i cant wait to share the next 2 weeks with them.

right now i’m watching how i met your mother with my little brother, enjoying these last few hours at home spending time with him, which is actually funny cause past couple of years ive realized that philip is truly my mission field. (i know he’s not gonna see this so i can share this here) i love my brother. very very much. even though him and i are different and enjoy different things, he’s my little brother and he always will be. since ive gotten into college ive defieniely been able to grow closer to him and i am so thankful for that. definitely can tell that God is paving the way for me to really be a missionary to him. althouhg praying for him is huge and have been for years, i know soon it’ll be time to start taking more practical steps rather than just saying “hey you should check out retreat” or “hey you should hang out with so-and-so” or whatever.. these next couple of weeks i spend in The Gambia, being a missionary to The Gambians and to complete strangers i will be meeting, i pray that God would give me the boldness and heart to truly be a missionary to my own brother. to be able to ask him if i could pray for him daily, encourage him to do daily qt’s, to read the bible with me, to pray with me, to share his life testimony with me… to really just live life together as more than just blood-brothers.. but as brothers-in-Christ.

anyways. The Gambia ‘12 is HERE.

we’re off. and as my team heads out, i want to just let you all know that you ARE a part of this team. whether you have supported me financially, by prayer, or with even encouragements. you truly have been a part of this team and are coming with us in spirit. thank you so much for all your kind words and encouragements and i’ll be the first to tell you all that it’s thanks to your love that i am the person i am today!
God bless you all and can’t wait to come home and share with you my experiences!
please keep us in prayerr as we travel tomorrow and during the next 2 weeks until our return. our flight will be arriving back on Sunday, July 8th around 2:30pm at dulles for those that would like to come greet us!

thank you all and LET’S GOOOOOOOOOO!

peace & love,

-alex

Day 3/4 (woops): Wednesday

mannnn yesterday was so busy that i kinda didnt really have any time to hit up the blog.. once i got home from missions meeting/prayer meeting, i ended up watching a few episodes of how i met your mother with my brother (got him into it!) and passed out watching it LOL

anyways… i guess what i kinda wanna share tonite will be very short but what’s on my mind… WE LEAVING IN 4 FREAKING DAYS!?!? WHATTT?? oh my goodness. theres so much to do, so little time. it’s unbelievable really but just gotta put my trust in God and know that He’ll be in control of it all…

today i worked a 9 hour shift at chick fil a. since ill be taking off alot of work the next few weeks, so just trying to finish off the last few days of work strongg but today i was definitely tested. i dont know why but my patience for people and overall attitude was really challenged today just dealing with coworkers, annoying customers, and even myself.

several times throughout the day i felt like just screaming, punching a wall (or someone), or just leaving. it’s not that anything in particular was harder today or anything.. i think i was just extra tired and with so many things on my mind that i got annoyed easily throughout the day.
i know its not an excuse to have my character compromised or even think harshly, but i think in a way it was a blessing in disguise because it showed me how things mentally can be in The Gambia.
it’s gonna be SUPER hot, we gon be doing work and physically, mentally, AND spiritually tested very very many times, so it’ll be crucial that i remember who lives in me and how i need to keep my character.

i was talking to a sister about it last night and thats exactly what we were talking about. during the trip being patient with my team members, and showing humility by loving on them even if i get annoyed.. because i for sure will probably annoy them at times too. so it’ll be crucial that we truly love on eachother and edify one another.

but i need to even now as even my workplace is my mission field so as i finish my last day at work for a while tomorrow, working 6am-2pm… -_-… i hope to use this as an opportunity to “practice” showing humility, being patient, and even loving on my coworkers.

i kinda just blabbed, im pretty tired. my brother and i ate taco bell and watching how i met your mother hahaha
i think ill sleep soon now.

goodnight

please keep my team in prayer! kinda cant wait but 4 days from now we’ll be on our way LET’S GOOOOOOO!!!

peace&love,

-alex 

Day 2: Monday

i still have so much to do… gotta go shopping to get some stuff i need, gotta finish packing.. so far all ive done is taken out my bag from the closet :PP
training tomorrow. pretty excited even though its going to be all over the place since we got so much to do… its actually kinda crazy to think how “behind” we are, but it gets me even more excited because i know God’s gon work in our insufficiencies and inadequacies.

but to talk about today… it was a longggggg day.
went to 3 different high school graduations and got to see some of my beautiful younger brothers and sisters walk the stage and share that moment with them as they finish this chapter of their lives.

but as the day went on, a certain theme kept coming up in conversations with people, in the speeches, and even in my own thoughts… sacrifice.

what exactly does it mean to sacrifice? as it came up it kept coming up throughout the day, it seemed like it was pretty much when one had to “give up” something in order to do something else… let’s say miss a day of work to do so-and-so, or maybe give up an activity or day of hanging out with friends to work and make money. other things like having to work instead of being able to go down to blacksburg this week (maybe me?) and then even the greatest sacrifice of all, Jesus Christ. the perfect lamb that was slain on that cross for us as a sacrifice… so then exactly WHAT does word itself mean?

according to dictionary.com, accessed a few minutes ago, sacrifice literally means: “the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.”

take a second to read that back… ok done?
sacrifice means the surrendering or “getting rid of” something PRIZED in order to get something considered a more pressing claim.
THIS is exactly what the sacrifice of Jesus was! Jesus was a perfect man. He had no faults, no sin, no wrongdoings.. yet God sent Him to be the perfect sacrifice on that cross. to die and take the burden of ALL our sins so that we may live and know Him…

CAN’T YOU SEE!?!? JESUS WAS AND IS THE SOMETHING PRIZED, He IS God’s precious one-and-only Son, but in order that WE may have the opportunity to be called God’s children, He was sent to the cross to bear our sin and then we were given NEW life… which is the “something CONSIDERED” a more pressing claim. God sacrificed His own Son, so that we may have eternal life. (John 3:16)

we (the bad, the faulty, the wrong-doers, the broken, the messed up, the ugly, the mean, the sinners) were considered such a pressing claim that God would even send His one and only perfect Son for us… whatttttttttt.

i know this stuff all seems so bible school elementary and basic, but it’s something that i know i tend to forget and set aside in my mind and heart. i’ve grown up memorising John 3:16 and learning all about Jesus and the cross, but i don’t think i live my everyday believing exactly the price that was paid on that cross for me, for us, for this world. the true sacrifice that was made so that i may live in Him.

as this trip to The Gambia gets nearer and nearer, i hope to just hold onto this realization, and desire to spread this amazing love which has been given to me. to be His light. His hands and feet to a world that He loves so dearly and desires so much to be with Him, He would send THE perfect savior.

peace & love,

-alex

7 Days…

it’s been a while since my last blog post. i don’t know if i can honestly say its because i been busy or if it’s just been the lack of wanting to “journal” my thoughts onto here… but finally got myself to write this because for those of you that don’t know already, i’m actually going to The Gambia, Africa on a mission trip for 2 weeks, and we leave in a week…

for the next 7 Days i want to kind of just journal my thoughts onto here and just share with you all (my friends, brothers & sisters in Christ, family) where i’m at and what’s going through my mind as i near closer to the trip. so here we go:

Day 1: Sunday (sorta)

i think it still hasn’t fully hit me just how soon it is we’ll be in The Gambia. one week, 7 days… actually LESS than 7 days i’ll be on a plane and on my way back to Africa. CRAZY. i honestly can’t say how i’m feeling right now. i’m exhausted from this weekend and my thoughts are kinda just racing but i can say that i am so excited. im also very anxious to see what God has in store for me but at the same time, i’m nervous.

i’m nervous cause this summer has already been very interesting (not in the sense that anything bigs happened, just kind-of myself battling certain things) and i’ve already been wrestling with God so much over my life and my self…
for me, i just want to surrender. such a scary word. let’s be honest with ourselves.. we as human beings are innate prideful people. we have our egos, or reputations, and our own goals and dreams. we can sing it all we want about how much we want more of God and how we’re going to “lay it all down”, “and i……i….. surrender, all to You, all for You”.
yeah maybe at that moment i mean it, but how much do we really surrender to Him on a daily basis? if i truly ask myself, i can’t say that 100% of me is for Him.

alot of me is invested in my job now (making money for me to spend on things for me), playing sports to win, succeeding in life for the “world’s standards” (becoming successful and getting a great job), and let’s be honest fellas, a lot of our thoughts tend to be about the ladies… :P

but is this truly the life that God is leading me to live? what was He telling me when i sing those lyrics.. “i’m giving You my dreams, i’m laying down my rights, i’m giving up my pride for the promise of new life.”

one thing’s for sure, i got a LONG ways to go until i can say that i am that man i want to be, but i know He’s got me on the path and i’m so thankful. His plans for me are much better than my selfish plans for my self. plans for me to prosper, and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future *Jeremiah 29:11*
i cant wait but i know He’ll give me the patience to do it.

Happy Father’s Day, Abba. thank You for showing me that You ARE the way.
7 days left.

-alex

Technically… Today is Thursday…

Hello beloved friends,

so this post is actually the post that i said i was going to write last week after i talked to my New Testament professor but the weekend was so busy with LG and freshmen lock-in, i couldnt find the time.. and since i have about 45 minutes until i have to get ready for class.. i thought i’d get to it now:

Like i said, these are my thoughts from a discussion i had with my New Testament professor. Her name is Professor Malbon and she is one of the kindest people ive ever met in my life.
to set this up, my New Testament class is very not-like-bible-study growing up. it’s literally picking up the Bible and studying it like you would a history/english textbook.. looking at context, authorship, narratives, literary devices. as you can imagine, this semester i’ve been struggling a bit with just the way that we approach the text. Growing up in a Christian family, i came into this class with all my “memory verses” and faith-based knowledge of scripture, but immediately, those became nada in studying for this course because in order to succeed in this class, you can’t really approach it with solely the faith-based knowledge i took in.
for example, a specific topic that i had been having a hard time with was the birth stories of Jesus. growing up in church, we used to put on skits at Christmas time where we’d have the character of the angel appear to Joseph in a dream, telling him not to be afraid and that the baby Mary bore was the son of God. But i never realized until this class is that while the Gospel of Matthew depicts the story in this manner, the Gospel of Luke actually has another version, where the angel Gabriel appears to Mary and tells her not to be afraid. it was details like this that challenged my thinking and made me wonder, “how is it possible to have such different stories if the Bible is truly God-breathed?” so i emailed my professor, asking her if i could come in to chat with her for a little and she told me to stay after class on thursday.
Thursday, class ends and i wait for her. she packed up her stuff and we walked over to the Department of Religion’s building. on the way over she asked me a few questions about my major, my grade, why i wanted to take this course… pretty much just making some small talk on the way over.

Once we got into her office, i sat down and we started off by taking a look at my first exam and the questions i missed (very happy with my first exam score, but wont get into that :D) and then she asks what else she “can help me with?”.
i didn’t hesitate and immediately asked her about faith/beliefs when it comes to approaching this course and how there could be so many differences among the gospels? She starts by telling me that i’m not the first one of her students to come to me with these questions over the years then mentions the fact that she is Christian (noting that she its hard to realize that by the way she teaches) and then starts into it. Malbon reminded me that even though these writers wrote books of the Bible, we must remember the fact that they TOO were human beings, meaning that they weren’t perfect in any sense, had unique differences about eachother, and all at times struggled in life. She said that their human nature would cause these discrepencies because the Bible is in fact written by people who struggling to be the people of God, FOR people that would struggle to BECOME the people of God. so while Matthew depicts that Joseph received the angel’s message due to the people it was written for cherishing higer righteousness, Luke was really written to give hope to the lowly, the dejected, the forgotten, and overlooked, so in this case Luke writes that a woman (Mary) played the large part in the story. She mentioned how her and i come from 2 very different backgrounds of faith and obviously have differences based on the Church culture that we grew up in, but we are all wonderfully and beautifully created with our differences for a purpose, and we aren’t supposed to fight eachother to see “who’s right?” but rather, God calls us to be a COMMUNITY of different people to live together FOR the Truth and to exemplify His love on earth.
Malbon also went on to say how she found it funny that we (as believers) find such a need/responsibility to “defend” the beliefs of the Bible we think is “right”, when in fact the Bible will “do just fine on it’s own”, that the Truth doesn’t need our debating on it’s behalf because in the end, God is all-powerful, He’s perfect, and His word will stand true forever. when she said this, i honestly got a little wake-up to realize that hey… woah.. God is truly all-powerful, and i’m just me… a conviction that for reals rather than arguing/trying to make debates over who’s right/who’s wrong, we really need to come together as a loving family, body, community… it’s funny how my fellowship, CCF, has been on this theme of commUNITY for the past 4 months, and God has a way of teaching me more and more even outside the CCF environment.
The final point Malbon had to share with me was this… we study Theology as “us studying God”, but have we ever stopped to wonder maybe.. JUST maybe, theology is actually more the idea of God “wanting to know US“… WOAHHH! ok let me elaborate. while the gospel writers were all humans, we are all humans, we are all unique and different in our own ways. so the idea of God wanting to know/have/love EACH and every one of His unique sons & daughters is what should drive us into truly loving Him and being totally for Him and after His Truth.

Yeah. so like i walked out of that discussion with a big smile/shocked/woah’d face on and my friend silvia knows (cause i called her right away and said pretty much all i just typed to her in like a 4 min fone convo LOL) i was in Legit awe… not so much that Malbon is actually a strong believer and wise woman, but just how God really spoke to me when i didn’t even think to expect it, and taught me so much, waking me up from this bubble of ideas of what faith, the Word, community, and Truth really was…

thank You, Daddy for being so so good to me.
even when i let the things of this world bring me down and think otherwise, i need to realize just how blessed i am and see that my struggles, my hardships are truly parts of my walk and paths to growing and becoming that man of God.

hopefully i can carry this with me into my exam in 2 hours. :P definitely approaching the rest of this semester in this class with a new mindset and heart. Let’s Goooo!

Peace & Love,
-alex

P.S. if you have any questions about this post/couldnt understand it cause i really typed mad fast and just let my thoughts flow… dont hestitate to ask cause id love to share in more detail!