Spaghetti
Well, I have to give a shout out to all of the amazing people who wouldn't allow me to leave the blogger network. I really do feel more at home here. A lot of my friends do have Xanga, but I have always kinda walked to the beat of a different drummer anyway, ey? On top of that, I am looking forward to getting to know you all better.
Anyway...
I read a pretty awesome quote the other day. It is one of those quotes that almost blow you out of your chair when you really think about it. Here it is:
"Imagination is evidence of the Divine." Wow!! Think about that for a minute.
God spoke the creation into existence. What an imagination! Creation...What a beautiful manifestation of the gloriously perfect imagination of God in design! Stars, insects, fish, oceans, mountains, the sun, the planets, gravity, oxygen, water (2 gases!), the human brain, the senses (how does smell work?), eye color, teeth, ears, birds, grass, trees, music, colors, rain, tornados, fire, THE CHRIST, etc...Today, ask yourself why God chose to make things the way they are. I challenge you to view the creation, and the Creator, as a child viewing it for the first time.
I was eating lunch with 4 friends today, 2 of which I barely know. They made the comment that I was a very passionate person as I was describing to them the vision trip to Italy I have been planning for the past month or so. The friend that knew me better (he is also thinking about going with me in December) joked that I could get passionate about the spaghetti I was eating for lunch. At first, I was kind of offended in that I thought he was trying to, in a way, cheapen my passion to investigate Italy. Then, I began to think about it.
God help me the day I lose passion for spaghetti! God created it out of NOTHING!! How can you not be fascinated and impassioned by such a miracle? Not only that, but think about how you know it tastes so good. Where did taste come from? I am in seminary gaining the best academic theological training in the world. You know what one of my daily longings and prayers is? That I would NEVER lose the faith of a child. A child takes in everything he senses with a beautiful sense of awe and wonder because he is sensing it for the first time. The man who is truly "walking in the light" with his Creator and Father could see something as "normal" as a mud puddle as being an awesome expression of the holy beauty of God, and fall down on his face in worship. The day I lose my passion is the day I need to repent in dust and ashes. We need more idealistic, awe-filled "children" in the church today because we claim to believe in an ideal awe-filled Kingdom.
Think about that the next time you dig into that "simple" plate of spaghetti...
posted by Russ at 8/15/2005 09:37:00 PM
9 Comments:
You know..I had this same thought about chocolate chip cookies..or any baked good for that matter. The fact that God gave someone the ingenuity and desire to combine all these ingredients to make what can only be considered divine dessert has always amazed me. He was probably like a parent watching a child try ice cream or chocolate for the first time and was like, "Watch this look come over their face. Yes, that's the look of delight I was going for."
I share in your delight of Italy. I've been there and still get passionate whenever I think of it. I hope you really enjoy your vision trip..where are you going? Is this vision for missions or something else?
I have been dialoguing with one of only FOUR IMB missionaries in Italy via MSN Messenger. He is located in Milan, which contains SEVEN universities. These universities contain 150,000 college students, the equivalent of almost 6 University of Tennessee's! And they are reaching out to the 20-35 age bracket, which is my interest.
98% of Italy is lost. 85% say they are Roman Catholics, but only 15% of those will attend church regularly. Basically, Italy is a post-Christian world. We see only fossils of what the church once was. I am strangely drawn to that challenge.
I also had a friend that spent a year over there with Campus Crusade. I could feel her passion over the internet! They saw salvations, lot's of salvations. There is hope. Her pictures that she'd sent spoke louder than words. I was originally thinking that God may be leading me back to Argentina, but doors began to close. I am now seeing a possible door open into Italy. I have always been intrigued by their culture.
The purpose of my trip is to take 2 like-minded brothers over there to pray, fast, meet with missionaries, and just see what God might do in our hearts. I have 3 semesters left here. Then, I go overseas. I am trying to figure out where God is leading me to go. I just KNOW that I am supposed to go.
Wow- thanks for the thoughts. Definetly making me think about the sandwhich I am eating for lunch
Soma..that's great...thanks for sharing so much detail...I'll pray that God would show you clearly if Italy is the place for you.
I've worked with 20-35 year olds for the last four years (two volunteer, two vocational). It's really life on life - especially when you are in the age range you minister to.
I've got some 'Learn Italian in Your Car' tapes if you'd like me to mail them to you to use before you go on your trip and even until you become proficient! Just let me know if that interests you!
I wrote a poem once for a creative writing class about the taste of pineapple and the smell of cherry pipe tobacco and sound waves... how incredible that God made all those things for us to experience and give Him praise! It encouraged me that every time my mom saw something beautiful in Europe this summer (which was often) she said to me, "My Dad made that!"
Thanks for commenting on my blog! You rock! The amazing skyline is Hong Kong, of course, where my heart is.
I'm praying for you about Italy right now.
Hey Russ,
This is Del from class. Cool blog man. I will have to tell you how to do the links. Later,
Del
Great post, Russ! Thanks for not leaving blogger-xanga's pages look really cluttered and messy anyway!
:)
Nikki
One of my favorite quotes of all time - supposedly from an older Christian woman who had walked with the Lord for a long time:
"God moves through the casseroles."
Our prayers are with you about Italy -- have you talked to Dr. Greg Allison at Southern? He was with Campus Crusade in Italy for about 5 years, I think. May be a good person to talk to if you haven't already. He also has an amazing working knowledge of Roman Catholicism and how to work with people with that background.
Russ...you may not have played on the right intramural bball team, and you probably won't ever lend me any of your height, but I will admit that I like your thinking :)
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