Spotlights and Cheese

Long time no see everyone! Sorry I haven’t posted in… 3 months… hmmm. Anyway… even though I haven’t posted in a while, I won’t be afraid to get a little deep in this entry. If you take it as that or not is up to you but ah well, I think it’s pretty good.

Before we dive in I’ll update. As you can tell there is a common pattern while I am traveling. The churches are good and the host families are awesome. This is true. Don’t worry I’ll be sure to blog if I stay with a millionaire or a psycho, but God has been so good; so much better to me than I deserve. This summit we were in Oxford, Mississippi. This has probably been my favorite of this year. Not necessarily because my host family was awesome, they were, probably my favorite so far. But that’s not what made this summit awesome. Usually in Church situations the Staff is on board and the congregation isn’t or it’s the other way around. But this was a rare case. Everyone was on board! Young and old, everyone was impacted. As I’m writing this, the team and I are going through letters that we have church members write the team to see how they were impacted. They are so good. But overall, this summit was awesome.

Now what God has been teaching me…

Pride has been one of the first things that God pointed out in my life coming to Life Action. I thought I was making great strides in humility. Oh how I was proven wrong. In my quiet time a few weeks ago I asked God to continue to really dig and point out my problem areas. He pointed out my pride. I thought this was a lesson already learned. In my stupidity I said, “God, I have pride in my life just everyone else but I am not a ‘prideful’ person”. Over the next few days God showed me just how much of a “saint” I claimed to be. I think it is in these times God chuckles and says to Himself “Hahaha, dear child… Buckle Up!” God showed me in several instances just how prideful I was. It turns out, I was getting prideful in my humility… how does that even happen? In all of my joking of how the Bass players get no love, in m heart of hearts, I was serious. People come up all the time to singers, the guitar players, and occasionally the drummer, to tell them how much God has blessed them. No one gives love to the bass player. I would joke but after a while it really started to bug me. I started to see how a lot of what I did went unrecognized, went into little pity parties of “No body cares”, and instead of turning it all over to God and giving Him the glory. I turned it inward and let it fester in my heart and mind. Then the Shepherd, in all of His goodness, saw my predicament, thumped me a little, and got me back on the right track. I’m so thankful that my Father loves so much to correct me!

Towards the end of the thump session God was having with me, we had a team meeting. The Pastor of the church spoke. He went to 1 Samuel and talked about when David had to go carry cheese to his brothers. At this time, he was already anointed as king. But he was faithful to his father and he went. If he would’ve rebelled or had been too prideful to go, if he didn’t carry the cheese, he would’ve missed the chance to kill a giant. We all go through these times of carrying cheese. But it has to be done. Some of God’s greatest lessons are taught when we are in the low place… Amen! 1 Peter 5:6 – Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you at the proper time.

God has instructed us to be the background, to display and glorify Him! He has told us to live on the edge of the spotlight, to be humble. I was reminded of this lesson right in the middle of playing a set. I wasn’t having a pride moment, just a “God reminder” moment. I was getting into the music, so I closed my eyes and lifted my head and started worshiping God. We were about to get to the bridge so I needed to know the chords. I opened my eyes and was instantly introduced to the brightness of the spotlight. My vision got splotchy, the same effect of looking into the sun. I couldn’t see the chords and I had to guess. Thankfully it turned out alright, I was able to fake it. But it reminded me of 3 things. 1. The spotlight belongs only to God. 2. When we get into the spotlight, it blinds us from what really matters. It distorts our vision and we loose sight on what we are focusing on, and 3. God knows all of this, and His call to humble ourselves isn’t totally to take ourselves out of the picture, it’s also put there to protect us. God knows we can’t handle it. Even if we think we can, it gets in our blood, our pride corrupts us, and in starts to destroy us. Pride is a poison.

As I close I want to encourage you, be humble. In the spotlight we find our shallow happiness but we end up blind. But Humble yourself under the shadow of His wings, and He will grow you in His joy. Stick in there brothers and sisters, we are not home yet!

TTFN

Home again Home again!

Alright everyone, time for my final entry of 2011 (maybe… probably… we’ll see). I can’t believe that it’s already Christmas break! This has gone by so quickly! We are currently traveling back from Aledo, IL back to the Life Action Camp. This has been a great and busy fall. I can’t wait to see what God has in store in 2012! Aledo was great. Our host family was great! I stayed with Mac (the Youth Leader) this time and we had a great time! The Church was just right in the middle of a church building project. At this time of tension, this was an opportune time for God to use Life Action in this church. Even though this one only lasted about a week, I believe God did a lot of work in the hearts of the people there. Testimony night was good. People actually shared! Hahahaha! (If you didn’t read my last entry, at the previous church, on the first night of testimonies, nobody came up to share.) My host mom even came up and shared what was on her heart! It was very encouraging. So far I have had awesome host parents, but they can’t really measure up to my next host family, mine. I am very excited to see my family and breathe in that Bristol air.

Life Action for me is a very interesting experience. With God dealing with me and learning how to be humble to people who I don’t really feel the best toward is very… good. With all of this, I can feel God growing me. Being in Life Action is like a kick in the pants and a bear hug all at the same time. I’m learning to step out of the picture and letting God be the model. Letting God take the show and living at the edge of the spotlight. Living at His feet isn’t always going to pleasant. Sometimes you are still but there are other time that you are kicked and bruised, but God uses all of this to grow you more effectively as a believer. If someone were to ask me what is the biggest thing I’ve learned this year, I would definitely say that this is it.

Previously I posted about what I learned in other churches. I have yet to go into detail on this blog but I assure you, the details will come… defiantly maybe. But I believe in Aledo I realized the importance of Joy in the Christian walk. I believe that Joy is just as effective something such as devotions for a healthy Christian walk. Now I’m not saying that your everyday Bible reading is completely connected to your Joy but I do believe that it goes hand in hand to some degree. If you don’t agree with me, we can talk later. Forgive me if I smile under your criticism, but that’s just because I’m thrilled at the fact that someone read my blog. We need to find Joy in the Lord as well as being in the church. As a church member said on testimony night, “There’s nothing worse than an unhappy (or grumpy) Christian.” I believe that completely. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they go through hardship. Jesus didn’t call us to be happy when things are lit up and the sky is clear. Jesus calls us to pick up and carry your cross. He calls us to rejoice in the suffering. There is no better way to be salt and light in this world than to rejoice in your times of great hardship. People are watching us constantly, especially in those trough periods. Be salt, Be light, Be joyful.

My prayer is that I will be more in love with Jesus when I come back than when I left for break.

1 Peter 5:6 – Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.

Well friends, it’s Christmas time. Go spend time with you family and remember the reason for the season. I will see you in 2012!

TTFN!

Giving Thanks and Thanksgiving

Ok so here's the scoop. The church in Ogden ended up going very well. God really showed me that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Sure, the church in general seemed a bit shallow from the get go, but at the end I could really see God moving in people's lives. It was awesome! But it did worry me at first. On the very first testimony night, Steve asked if any one wanted to share. Usually a few trickle before a stream of people come. But this time something very rare happened that hasn't happened in Life Action for a long time. No one came up. So we broke early and everyone went home. At first this concerned me greatly. But I was reminded that it's not Life Action being in a church that makes any difference, it's Christ in His love and Mercy that works in peoples lives. We heard quite a few stories of how shocked some in the congregation didn't speak up. God had been moving in peoples lives! The next testimony night, after we fasted as a team, was really cool. A lot of people came up and shared their hearts! One in particular really touched me. There was a girl that had down syndrome or some sort of disability. There were people in line but that didn't stop her. As soon as one lady had finished she ran to the front to give a testimony. Steve gave her the mic. I couldn't make out everything she said, partly because she was crying, but I did hear 4 words very clearly. "Lord", "Strength", and "Thank You". After that she gave Steve a great big hug and walked off back to her seat. This stood out to me because I realized something. Words in a testimony can be compared to the bible story about the woman's mite. Sure you can give a testimony, use really big words, and really make people go "Hmmmm", but I believe God really smiles when He sees someone who can barely produce the words of thanks to Him, but It's all from their heart, it's genuine, it's precious.

After that conference we headed back to the Life Action Camp for a little Rest and Recuperation. We also celebrated Thanksgiving while we were there. A family cooked for us and we ate together and watched the Detroit Lions loose... again. Good times hahaha. After that we played a little football ourselves. It was the older guys verses us younger guys. Who won? Well, bad stuff happens when you take it too easy on older people lets just say that. All I can say is, I hope when I'm in my late 40's, I can make up my own rules too. You may say "Caleb, you're being a bit competitive against you're team aren't you?" Nah it's all good. Nobody really reads these things anyway so I think we're good.

I'm so thankful for what God has done and is doing in my life and the lives of so many others from different Summits. 2011 has been great! Looking back I was able to be Chaplain of my SGO, Worship leader of youth, getting 1st in regionals and 2nd in State vocals, having a dream come true of being a varsity goalie in a championship game and winning, and even being accepted into Life Action! God has done so much for me in this past year. I don't deserve any of it. Who am I Lord? Why do You mind me? Thank you Father. Thank You.

Right now I am in Aledo, IL. We are only here for a week before we head home for Christmas. Basically we are packing 2-3 week into one. It's a bit of a rush but hey, I'll have time to sleep when I get home. I can't wait to see what all God is going to be doing here in this church. I can already see Him doing a lot!

Just a quick note, I probably won't do much on this blog while I'm on Christmas break. My last official post will be after this Summit. I'll probably right it on the car ride home. I will post stuff in my other blog. So go here to visit "The Mind of Caleb". This is just my fun blog where I post random stuff you might like.

Well thank you for reading and keeping updated with me! I really appreciate you guys and your prayers! You're awesome! Well, TTFN!

New Church and What I Am Learning

Ok, I have more time to formulate my thoughts! Yay! The Church in Senatobia, MS went smoothly. I truly believe that this church will change and not just fade away in an emotional high. I can't wait to be in that area again in 2012 to see how they are doing. We will be about 30 min or so away so they may com up for a visit! I'm very excited!

On our way up to Michigan, we got to stop in Morton again and we got to stay with our host families that we had there. It was such a blessing to stay with them! I can safely say, while all my host families are awesome, Morton just stood out! I loved it.

On the way up to Adrian Michigan, I rode in the Big Rig (Named Oden) with our truck driver Blake. We got some new equipment for this upcoming church. Last time the pastor was apart of a Life Action conference, they were in their legalistic "Suit and tie/always wear a skirt" stages. Our Revivalist wanted to change their mind set. So we picked up a couple TV's to put on stage to make us look even more contemporary.

And man is this church contemporary. It is a newer church, with a pastor has this church as his first head pastoring position. This church either came from or converted from a Catholic background. In a sense I guess I shouldn't be surprised but this church seems very.... shallow. But as I said, I'm not surprised. A lot of this congregation are lost. I started this Summit (or "the pursuit" as we are calling it at this church) I really doubted the potential of a "Major God Movement". Wow, that was the wrong thing to think. As I come further along in my walk with God the more I realize that I have such a legalistic and prideful heart! Why shouldn't God come? What was I expecting? Am I really basing my "hopes for the church" purely based on host homes and atmosphere?... I was. Jesus Himself did not (purely) come to seek the ones that were "doing ok" or the ones with sound doctrine, or even the ones that were "deep". He came to save that lost, the shallow, the sinners. The ones that will be sitting in all of these chairs surrounding me tonight. I've come to a realization that a revival probably won't start in a church that "has it all together". It will probably start in one like this. A church ready and willing to be broken.

God, forgive my for my incompetent view of Your sovereignty, Your power, Your grace, and Your mercy.

Side Notes:

My host family is awesome. They are water skiers through and through. They live on a lake. It would be fun to go out with them on the lake, but maybe when it's not 25 degrees outside. I am staying with 3 other guys (Matt, Trevor, and Justin), It is a big house so we each get our own room! THANK YOU LORD!!!... *cough, I mean, it is a blessing.

A side side note:

This is more for me to look back on and keep track of

(I will get in more depth later)

The most important real life applicable things I've gotten from each Summit

Rocky Mt., NC - Grace
Morton, IL - Faith
Senatobia, MS - Humility (even in serving those you really don't want to serve)
Adrian, Michigan - The importance of the Word and God in every day life

That concludes today's segment, TTFN

Be sure to check out my newest installment - The Mind of Caleb
It's just stuff I though that was neat and that host families have shown me on the internet. It's so I don't loose track of them so I can show other people also

http://caleb-morton2.blogspot.com/

Senatobia, Mississippi

This one ma be a bit short because I'm packing and am tired so yah :D

This summit was awesome! I had a great host family! It was a full house but it went over splendidly! I roomed with Josh Caton, Joel Purvis, and myself. We had an awesome time getting to know our host family! We played basketball, super smash bros., went go karting, played board games, etc. It was a lot of fun!!!

As for the church, they were very open from the start. It was quite the opposite from the start of our previous church in Morton when we started out. The church seemed very open and accepting of the message. I believe that God will do great things in this church if they will pick up the rope and tow their share. This is a new church so we were allowed to be a little more relaxed in things like music. We got to be a little more contemporary :).

Welp that was the month of october summed up in a couple paragraphs. This could prove useful for college...  

hahaha :D

Welp, ttfn!

My Short Sermon on Bitterness...

I want to share with you what God has been putting on my heart. This is what I have come out of and what I’ve been going through this past month or so. There’s a poem that I’d like to start with before we begin. The poem is called the Prodigal Son. The story has meant a lot to me in my life and has really grown to be my life’s verse. But listen here…

The Prodigal Son

by James Weldon Johnson

Young man—

Young man—

Your arm’s too short to box with God.

But Jesus spake in a parable, and he said:

A certain man had two sons.

Jesus didn’t give this man a name,

But his name is God Almighty.

And Jesus didn’t call these sons by name,

But ev’ry young man,

Ev’rywhere,

Is one of these two sons.

And the younger son said to his father,

He said: Father, divide up the property,

And give me my portion now.

And the father with tears in his eyes said: Son,

Don’t leave your father’s house.

But the boy was stubborn in his head,

And haughty in his heart,

And he took his share of his father’s goods,

And went into a far-off country.

There comes a time,

There comes a time

When ev’ry young man looks out from his father’s house,

Longing for that far-off country.

And the young man journeyed on his way,

And he said to himself as he travelled along:

This sure is an easy road,

Nothing like the rough furrows behind my father’s plow.

Young man—

Young man—

Smooth and easy is the road

That leads to hell and destruction.

Down grade all the way,

The further you travel, the faster you go.

No need to trudge and sweat and toil,

Just slip and slide and slip and slide

Till you bang up against hell’s iron gate.

And the younger son kept travelling along,

Till at night-time he came to a city.

And the city was bright in the night-time like day,

The streets all crowded with people,

Brass bands and string bands a-playing,

And ev’rywhere the young man turned

There was singing and laughing and dancing.

And he stopped a passer-by and he said:

Tell me what city is this?

And the passer-by laughed and said: Don’t you know?

This is Babylon, Babylon,

That great city of Babylon.

Come on, my friend, and go along with me.

And the young man joined the crowd.

Young man—

Young man—

You’re never lonesome in Babylon.

You can always join a crowd in Babylon.

Young man—

Young man—

You can never be alone in Babylon,

Alone with your Jesus in Babylon.

You can never find a place, a lonesome place,

A lonesome place to go down on your knees,

And talk with your God, in Babylon.

You’re always in a crowd in Babylon.

And the young man went with his new-found friend,

And bought himself some brand new clothes,

And he spent his days in the drinking dens,

Swallowing the fires of hell.

And he spent his nights in the gambling dens,

Throwing dice with the devil for his soul.

And he met up with the women of Babylon.

Oh, the women of Babylon!

Dressed in yellow and purple and scarlet,

Loaded with rings and earrings and bracelets,

Their lips like a honeycomb dripping with honey,

Perfumed and sweet-smelling like a jasmine flower;

And the jasmine smell of the Babylon women

Got in his nostrils and went to his head,

And he wasted his substance in riotous living,

In the evening, in the black and dark of night,

With the sweet-sinning women of Babylon.

And they stripped him of his money,

And they stripped him of his clothes,

And they left him broke and ragged

In the streets of Babylon.

Then the young man joined another crowd—

The beggars and lepers of Babylon.

And he went to feeding swine,

And he was hungrier than the hogs;

He got down on his belly in the mire and mud

And ate the husks with the hogs.

And not a hog was too low to turn up his nose

At the man in the mire of Babylon.

Then the young man came to himself—

He came to himself and said:

In my father’s house are many mansions,

Ev’ry servant in his house has bread to eat,

Ev’ry servant in his house has a place to sleep;

I will arise and go to my father.

And his father saw him afar off,

And he ran up the road to meet him.

He put clean clothes upon his back,

And a golden chain around his neck,

He made a feast and killed the fatted calf,

And invited the neighbors in.

Oh-o-oh, sinner,

When you’re mingling with the crowd in Babylon—

Drinking the wine of Babylon—

Running with the women of Babylon—

You forget about God, and you laugh at Death.

Today you’ve got the strength of a bull in your neck

And the strength of a bear in your arms,

But some o’ these days, some o’ these days,

You’ll have a hand-to-hand struggle with bony Death,

And Death is bound to win.

Young man, come away from Babylon,

That hell-border city of Babylon.

Leave the dancing and gambling of Babylon,

The wine and whiskey of Babylon,

The hot-mouthed women of Babylon;

Fall down on your knees,

And say in your heart:

I will arise and go to my Father.

At some point in your life we have all come to this point where Satan gets the absolute best of us. We find ourselves in a place we never thought we would be, in the realization that we are depraved and are in desperate need of Him. But take notice to what the poem says, each of us is one of these sons. Please turn to Luke 15. (read Luke 15).

Each one of us is or has been one of these two sons. The first son who left his Father’s home and the bitter son back home. We closely look at the passage and find that the prodigal son was the kid who may have grown up in all the right circles, been to all the Sunday school lessons and got saved at every vbs. But despite all of this, he leaves. Just as God is a God of believing we have our own choices, he allows us to leave. Luke 15:11-16. We go into sin and yes it tastes good for a season. You go into it, everything is fun and games, then one day you realize that all of these things that you are giving to the world, you are not getting back. Until you are left with nothing. We find ourselves unrecognizable. But we have our Father, who recognizes us from afar. Who runs out to us, kisses us, puts the best clothing on us even though we smell and look rotten and smell like pigs. He welcomes us back with open arms. When Jesus is telling these parables, he is among the tax collectors and the people back then would just see as scum. But, in a sense, they were all prodigals. You see, in today’s world we have those sons. We have the Good old boys turned to drugs, alcohol, fortification, homosexuality, or whatever. But we see those come to the point when they can’t get any lower and they find themselves with the pigs. They then say in their hearts, “I will arise and go to my Father”.

On the other hand we have the second son. You see we not only have the prodigal, but we also have the faithful – the prodigal son’s brother. He comes to the point where He thinks that he should reap some of his sewing. Why should little brother receive blessing when he has gone off, squandered his inheritance, pretty much spit on the family name by defiling it in the big city. Why should he get the party, the fatted calf, the attention, when I’ve been doing my father’s will all this time? I’ve never once went against you and you haven’t given to me as much as a single goat. Where’s my celebration? My brother, Your son, has defiled your name! He stood in the church saying Lord, He went to the Christian concerts and sang Lord, He went to the food drives in Your name and still made ruin of your image by doing these things! Tell me Father why! This doesn’t make sense! Has my labor been in vain? And the Father responds Son, you are always with me. All that I have will be yours. That which was lost is now found.

Don’t be bitter when sinners sin. Don’t get worked up if a lost individual tries to mock you and/or defile your name. That’s just it, their lost. Some of us have family member who were involved in some addiction or sexual impurity. Some of us our dads ran off when we were young. Maybe mom just wasn’t there. Sometimes we wish that they were dead we get so angry. But we see the Lord work in their lives and suddenly, on one fateful Sunday, they get saved. Maybe they were the person that gets saved every revival or conference. But it is not right that we get defensive or skeptical. We have to trust that God has done something great. You can fool others about bitterness but you can’t fool your heart.

Who knows, maybe it’s yourself. You can’t forgive yourself for what you’ve done. Instead of surrendering it you harbor your sin against yourself because you don’t think you even should be forgiven. In this you become both sons. The first son, the part of you that seeks redemption, and the second son, the part of you that won’t let it die. That won’t open it’s hands enough to let it go. You can’t fool God. Prov. 14:10 - The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.

So I guess what I’m trying to so through this is, forgive. Don’t be bitter. Don’t believe the lies that we hear so much from the world and from the devil. My first phrase when I was a kid still applies today. “Repent you sinner”. Repent and forgive. Confess and be forgiven.

"Why Captain America?"

The question was proposed to me, "Caleb, why do you like Captain America so much?"

"Well he doesn't even have super powers."

This is true. But you have to look past the powers and see what makes a hero a hero. It's what they stand for. It's what they believe in. Captain America stands for truth, justice, doing the right thing... he stands for being a hero! People have perverted what is means to be an American. Despite what this country used to be or is currently, Captain America believes that, wether this is or isn't the best country in the world; we can be the best people. I know that sounds a little cheesy but hang with me.

There are "darker" heroes such as Batman, Deadpool, and especially the Punisher. While I'm not downing them at all, they seem to miss the mark as "pure" heroes. You have the Punisher on one hand who would consider killing someone rather than bringing him to justice, but Captain America would do the right thing if it killed him.

"But isn't he vulnerable with nothing but a shield?"

It's because of the fact that he is vulnerable that makes him awesome. You have super heroes like Superman that are impervious to just about everything, but Captain America takes a risk in saving a life. In other "Super Scenarios" the super hero must be thrown into an epic battle with some random, over-powered, super villain in order for the audience to get the sense that the hero is in danger. But on the other hand you have Capt. America. He is vulnerable, only having a shield. But despite being susceptible to things like bullets, gravity, and the occasional explosion, he still puts his life on the line. Just like my heroes in real life. The ones that choose to go into harms way to protect and to serve what we as Americans believe in.

Side note. I love the fact tat he has a shield instead of something like a sword or a hammer. It's a symbol of protection. While it can be used for combat, that is it's main purpose is to defend.

The Bottom Line...

The bottom line is that I am a patriot. Ever since I was a little kid I have been all about "red, white, and blue". Heck, I even picked my favorite NFL team based off of those facts when I was 7. When I think of a hero, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, or even Captain America don't come to mind. I think of the Army, the Navy, the Marines, etc. I think of soldiers! The ones laying down their lives each day to do the things we are too afraid to do. The brave protectors... the everyday super-heros. So yes, I will stop at memorials of those fallen in the line of duty and pay my respects. I will be thankful for them every day. I will look up to our veterans. I will put my hand over my heart and sing the National Anthem as loud as I can because I am proud to be an American. No matter how hard the world will try to make me ashamed, no matter how many times they attack, no matter how many times they try to tell me otherwise... I am proud to be an American and to live in a country where people die to protect these beliefs. So why is Captain America so special to me?

Because he's the hero that resembles my heroes!