A Treasure

There's a song by Sanctus Real called "Forgiven." In it is one line that put in my head an amazing, unforgettable, and encouraging image. The line goes like this: "While I don't measure up to much in this life, I'm a treasure in the arms of Christ." I Corinthians 3:23 (NKJV, thats the only one I had available when I wrote this) says that "you are Christ's and Christ is God's."

A treasure. We are Christ's. We are a treasure in His arms! How is that even possible? I'm so amazed by this. That Christ would regard us, sinners, filthy and wretched, as a treasure in His arms. Why? How? We are FORGIVEN! Praise be to God Almighty! Praise be to Christ His Son and His Holy Spirit that now resides in us! "Amazing love, how can it be, that thou my God shouldst die for me?" A treasure? His love and mercy are indescribable.

Now about that image. When I heard this song for the second or third time, those words jumped out at me. I had this image of walking (or running, rather) toward the gates of heaven, with my Savior Jesus Christ waiting, bending down with outstretched arms and a smiling face, excited to see me, His treasure, coming home at last. That image still fills me with inexplicable joy. That thought and idea encourages me when I feel so sinful and filthy. I'm a treasure in the arms of Christ. A treasure.

The Rebelution

Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris is without a doubt one of the best books ever written. I will never forget when my mom handed me this book to read during the 7-hour trip to Gulf Shores. It completely changed my outlook on life. I had never questioned the low expectations of teenagers in our society. Now, I struggle against those low expectations. When teachers or adults say "Well I'm not going to expect you to understand...I don't expect you to be able to write at that level yet...I don't expect you to not get in a car wreck...I don't expect you to go ahead and sort that out...I don't expect...don't expect..." WHY NOT? Back in the day, "teens" were not teens. That word did not exist. They were adults. And other, older adults expected much of them. And guess what? They did it. They did things like lead troops, survey thousands of acres alone, captain ships, provide for households, and many other things. Without all the help we have today. So why can't we? Teenagers today are trapped in the low expectations of our consumeristic society. Especially as Christians, we need to rise up against them. That's what the Rebelution is. Rebelution is a made up word, and it means "a teenage rebellion against low expectations." We are called to "Do Hard Things." About once a week I will post more about this book, posting things that Alex and Brett said and what I thought about them, diving deeper in to what it means to "Do Hard Things."

This past August the Do Hard Things conference came to Gadsden, and a few members of my youth group and I attended. It was a great experience. This August, they are coming to Nashville, and I can't wait to go! Here are some photographs of when Ashley and I were able to meet Alex and Brett.

Hey! So, Ashley inspired me to start a blog. I know, I'm crazy. Well, mostly I suppose I will be posting about my favorite book and inspiring teenage movement, Do Hard Things and the Rebelution. Also....just random stuff. I'll stop trying to think of things to say now. Enjoy!