Friendship

"In friendship...we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another...the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting--any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you," can truly say to every group of Christian friends, "You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another." The friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others. they are no greater than the beauties of a thousand other men; by Friendship God opens our eyes to them. They are, like all beauties, derived from Him, and then, in a good Friendship, increased by Him through the Friendship itself, so that it is His instrument for creating as well as for revealing." - C.S. Lewis

This quote got me to thinking back to this past years and all of the amazing friendships God has thrown my way, many of them from completely random and unexpected sources.  Honestly the value of true friendships cannot be underestimated. there is something almost magical about finding others who share some of the same dreams, passions, and loves as you.  Seemingly random people that come into your life,

And change it.

Change it in ways you never expect, they will laugh with you, cry with you, they will point areas of sin in your life, they will then help you overcome that sin, they will encourage you in your faith, they will tease you, they will go on crazy adventures with you, they will talk with you for hours about everything under the sun, they will just share in life with you, there will be high points, there will be low points, they will share their struggles with you, they will push you outside of your comfort zone, they will argue and fight with you, they will forgive you, they will let you learn from your mistakes, they will show you new beauty and truth about God, they will call you names and not really mean it, they will tell you they love and care about you and mean it.

The type of bond between friends cannot really be explained by this world, for as C.S. Lewis (I know I'm quoting him again, he's just that good!) says,

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”

Be thankful for your friends, don't take them for granted. Because, while logically you don't really need them, in all truth you do need them, and God has placed each one in your life for a purpose.

Don't ignore that,

God does know what he's doing....

You see it was Jesus that first loved and sacrificed in order be in a relationship with us

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." - John 15:12-15

So take the time for genuine friendship, for through our friendships and love we are called to display for each other that we live out the Gospel

"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." - John 13:34-35

Go...Love...Now...

Wildwood Summer Project

Wildwood, New Jersey......Treasuring Jesus and Changing the World


My journey towards spending my summer as a part of the Cru Wildwood Summer Project started just under a year ago when I had the life changing opportunity to spend a couple weeks on a missions trip in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  While in Malaysia I was exposed first-hand to Christianity outside of the United States, and began to truly understand the Gospel as something that the people around the world so desperately need and desire.  I also realized that I myself am personally called to spread the Gospel to the nations.


Fast forward to around January, when I was trying to figure out what in the world I was going to do this summer.  That's when I first started really hearing about summer projects through Campus Crusade for Christ and all of the amazing opportunities that were a part of them.   So as I began to look at the different projects, the one that caught my eye from the very beginning was Wildwood. Wildwood summer project is built around two things, treasuring Jesus and changing the world.  I remember reading the first paragraph on the information page of Wildwood, and almost immediately feeling God start pushing me towards it.


"We are convinced that, as we see Jesus for who he truly is, as our hearts are captivated to worship him more deeply, and as we Treasure Jesus more dearly, we will be compelled to Change the World. We won’t be able to help BUT share the gospel with our friends, to bring justice to the unjust, to redeem the things that are broken, and to, quite literally, change the face of the entire world around us. "


However what makes Wildwood unique as far as summer projects is all the international students there, in fact there's literally thousands of international students that work there over the summer.  That was really the deciding factor for me, because the more I prayed about it the more I realized what an unique and amazing opportunity to both grow my faith as well as share it with people literally from all around the world!  So in late February I submitted my application, and a few weeks letter I was accepted. I  then began the process of preparing myself as well as raising both financial and prayer support. (I'm still doing both and I'd like to ask you to prayerfully consider supporting me! You can view my support letter here and my prayer card here.)


So what will I be doing in Wildwood? Well I will be living in a big house just 2 blocks from the beach with 67 other students just like me.  There's going to be 20 staff members that will be mentoring and leading us through the summer as we grow in our faith.  All of the students are will get jobs along the Wildwood boardwalk, where we will have the chance to interact and share the Gospel with our co-workers (many of which will be international students) we will also be running bible studies, outreaches, events, and a myriad of other things as we try to impact WIldwood, New Jersey and all of the people we come in contact with for God's Kingdom!


And all of that brings me up to where I am now, with just a few more days until I pack up and head to Wildwood for the summer of a lifetime!  So please consider supporting me especially with your prayers, and I will be blogging all the stuff that I experience in Wildwood during this summer, so check back every once and a while to see how God is working!


-Chris

And so it begins....

I figured I'd start this all out by explaining why I even have a blog, and what I want this to be.  I am not the most organized person, this is a way I hope write out my thoughts, my memories, my stories, my life.... So this blog will simply be a reflection of parts of my life,
it will be about Jesus for that is what my life is about,
it will be random for I am random,
it will be funny (hopefully) for I am funny (hopefully),
it will be crazy for my life is crazy,
it will be about nature, music, hammocking, sports, adventures, friends, family, struggles, stories, and all of the crazy little bits of life in-between.
oh and it will be about a little more Jesus!

I hope that you will enjoy following along as you experience parts of this adventure I call my life!