Elves

Let me first just say that this has become much more therapeutic than I had originally intended. Everyone should blog.

Allow me to also say, that it's become very not what I had imagined at all. Instead of a spewing list of negatives, I find myself wanting just to write about everything.

Scenario.

I'm sitting in church this morning, and the preacher says something that really gets me thinking.

I should blog about this. I think quietly to myself, if there is any other way to think.

But Kirsten, says that annoying voice in my head your blog is about things you don't like. remember? It then proceeds to do an annoying little dance as it sings "Na na na na na na!" repeatedly. It's a really annoying little voice.

Well, this post is about you, tiny dancing elf creature that crushes my dreams. This is MY blog and I'll do with it what I please. Thank you very much.

So. My story.

I'm currently attending Crossroads community church in Oakly. I really love it, and currently they're doing the Faithful series. It's about people in the bible who, despite every criticism, doubt or persecution, remained faithful to the God they believed to be faithful. Oh yeah, and they incorporate super heroes. Just when you thought church was boring.

So, needless to say, it's kind of epic, and I'm really really enjoying it.

Today Bryan Tome (woop woop) talked about Peter. I have always loved Peter, seriously. He might be one of the coolest dudes in the bible. He is by no means perfect, but he displays faith in everything that he does. He was a fisherman, which was the biblical equivalent to a plumber as far as station goes. He was probably crude, rough and lacked any sort of tack, but yet he's one of the men closest to Jesus. I think thats so incredibly cool.

So I have a lot of thoughts on Peter today.

Bryan told the story of Peter walking on the water today. And I kind of took it to a place that he didn't. He used it as an example that even the best of us loose our faith in the storms of life, but I saw it as a metaphor for a walk with God.

So here's how it goes down. Jesus is praying on a hill. His buddies are down on the lake in a boat. They're probably all jazzed to be on that boat, when all of a sudden this horrid storm starts up. Oh noes! We're on a boat and we're probably going to die. But wait! What's that. Is that some dude out on the water? Psh. No. That's crazy. It's probably some sea monster come to swallow us whole or a witch come to skin us alive. Lets cower in fear some more. But what they don't know is it's their pall Jesus. He's all "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." "What is this nonsense?" the disciples are probably thinking. People can't walk on water. That's against the laws of physics. But it's Jesus, and he invented water, so he can do whatever the heck he wants with it. *Does the Jesus is so cool dance*. So while all of his other friends are cowering in fear on the boat, Peter makes a huge choice. He's is going to get up off his butt and go to Jesus. Which is where the metaphoring begins. To follow Christ, you have to make a conscious choice to not be passive and go. No matter how crazy it may seem. So Peters walking on the water, going to his BFF Jesus when he stops, looks around and probably realizes that he's walking on freaking water in the middle of a pretty awful storm. He freezes, takes his focus off Jesus, and is distracted by all the scary crap around him. He begins to sink. This is where most people would consider Peter faithless, and albeit, Jesus does refer to him as "You of little faith" but I think the more important indicator of Peters character is seen just a few words down. He cries out for Jesus to save him. Even though he lost faith for a moment, he knows that Christ is right there and will save him. It's like us in our lives. We're on this completely amazing walk with God, totally focussed on him. It's not till we take our eyes off of the real goal, and look around all the awfulness that we lose faith. Now this isn't saying that we should ignore all the bad things in life. I'm pretty sure Peter wasn't completely delusional, thinking he's having a lovely stroll in the park. He probably knew that what he was doing was crazy. But he had his eyes on Jesus, and with that in his vision, everything else seemed so powerless. And just like Peter, when we start to panic over the things of this world, we do sink. We lose faith. But we should take a cue from Peter. He didn't really lose faith. He just forgot it for a moment. He cries out to Jesus to save him, and because He's Jesus, He did. And does for us.

Yes, that is how I tell bible stories. Get over it.

Believe it or not, that was not the main point I'm trying to make in this post. I'm just incredibly long winded.

What really stuck with me was the story of catching all the fish. Here's the condensed version.

Jesus: Hey Peter, lets go see if we can catch any fish.

Peter: Uh, Jesus, I'm kind of a really good fisher, and I was out all night and hardly caught anything, so I don't think we're going to have much luck this time... But I guess if you say so.

Jesus: Awesome.

They go out onto the lake, catch a butt load of fish. They can't even bring it in by themselves. Once they get to shore Peter kneels down and says: Get away from me, I am a sinful man. I'm not worthy.

This really never stuck with me until this morning. Bryan was talking about how a lot of people were probably there. Peter could have easily taken all the glory for himself and just kept quiet. Instead he realizes that Jesus is a holy man, because as a fisherman he recognizes what he just witnessed as a miracle.
This got me thinking. How many times do I give God the glory in my life. Recently a lot of crappy things have happened to me, and upon reflection, I realize that I have no problem giving God the credit there.

"Yeah, everything is rough, but God has a plan, and this is happening for a reason."

How many times have we used that generic line. God has a plan. I'm not discrediting the thought, because it's totally true. If this year has taught me anything it's that God works all things for good for those who love Him. But I honestly can't remember the last time I gave Him credit for a blessing thats been accomplished through me. I really want that to change. So I challenge the two of you who actually read this, along with myself, to be like Peter, and aggressively peruse God, and give Him His glory. Because I'm pretty sure He likes that.