"Can you show me this...what is it? A new way?"

If you've ever seen Wet Hot American Summer, you know where the title of this post is comin from. If not...I urge you to watch that movie asap.

Anyway I wanted to update and say that i've been less than stellar at expressing what i've learned in life since my last post, and I intend on making this more of an outlet for where I can pass along the things I'm learning in sermons, books, and life experiences. Hopefully a couple posts a week! Y'all can keep me accountable on this.

So to start it off with a bang, I'm currently reading a couple books. The Reason For God (Tim Keller), Abba's Child (Brennan Manning), and a commentary on the book of Romans (which I am actually going through verse by verse, and its epic). I've learned a lot from the first chapter in Abba's Child about being okay with myself.

Brennan Manning is one of my favorite authors and in this he talks about stories of self realization and how we, like Adam and Eve, have been ashamed of who we are so we hide. From God and from each other, we hide.

Adam and Eve covered themselves when they saw that they were naked and even hid from God when he came to see them in the Garden. We are doing the same thing when we try to become something we're not to impress others and to avoid guilt, shame, rejection, and loneliness. We are so good at hiding who we REALLY are that sometimes, if not most times, we cant even recognize that person when they show up. Im convinced that the reason men battle with lust, women battle with self-esteem, and many more struggles on both ends of the spectrum, is because we're so afraid of spending time with ourselves, THE MEN AND WOMEN GOD CREATED US TO BE.

Is that a slap in God's face? Sure is. Can we come back from it? Sure can!

The redeeming POWER of Gods love and Grace tells us "you're okay. you're beautiful. you're interesting. you're perfect. because I made you and I LOVE YOU."

Folks I'm tellin you this. we dont need anyone or anything else, than our Father who made us. I encourage you to be okay with you, and not worry about who you should be, but take pure joy in who you already are.

I'll leave you with my favorite quote from Brennan Manning. "He Loves you as you are, and NOT as you should be."

Here's a little treat- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gINtHqwjr2M

Calloused Hands, Calloused Feet, Open Heart