telling the truth

It is a world of magic and mystery, of deep darkness and flickering starlight.  It is a world where terrible things happen and wonderful things too.  It is a world where goodness is pitted against evil, love against hate, order against chaos, in a great struggle where often it is hard to be sure who belongs to which side because appearances are endlessly deceptive.  Yet for all its confusion and wildness, it is a world where the battle goes ultimately to the good, who live happily ever after, and where in the long run everybody, good and evil alike, becomes known by his true name. . .That is the fairy tale of the Gospel with, of course, one crucial difference from all other fairy tales, which is that the claim made for it is that it is true, that it not only happened once upon a time but has kept on happening ever since and is happening still.

Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth

(taken from Epic by John Eldredge)

WMHK

First things first.  I miss writing blogs.  I’m going to try to do it more.

Second. I love WMHK. Is it kinda cheesy sometimes? Yes. Do people make fun of it a lot? Yes. Do I care? No.

I really appreciate WMHK. I love listening to other stations that play country and pop music. But WMHK really is wholesome and refreshing.  I like what they are doing. If you’ve ever listened you probably know about the Family Name Game.  This morning the name was Krystal apparently, and so Krystal called in and she got to tell a little about her story  and how she lost her kids in a car accident they were in about a year ago.  She was hurt badly and her children were killed. It was a beautiful story about how she clung to Jesus through the storm and you could hear in her voice that she’s still in the midst of it. Maybe the winds have softened a bit, but she is still having to fight to hold tight to the Truth and to her Savior. She sounded strong. I have no doubt that someone needed to hear her story this morning. I am confident that God used that brief 5 minute version of Krystal’s story, told over the RADIO, to speak straight to someone’s heart. I can’t even relate exactly to the trials she has faced, but I was definitely encouraged this morning by her story and her faith.

Third. I love music. It is certainly a gift from God. There is power in it. and the Lord uses it to feed my soul sometimes. I especially love songs that were made for the purpose of worshiping God. Sometimes songs that aren’t about Jesus can really wear on your spirit. and sometimes I fail to notice. This morning I heard this song, I had heard someone mention it before or seen the lyrics somewhere before, and heard the song maybe once or twice, but today I listened. I’m going to post the lyrics. Because I like it.

“I made You promises a thousand times
I tried to hear from Heaven
But I talked the whole time
I think I made You too small
I never feared You at all No
If You touched my face would I know You?
Looked into my eyes could I behold You?

What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured You out
I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about
How You were might to save
Those were only empty words on a page
Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be
The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?
And a God who gave life it’s name?
What do I know of Holy?
Of the One who the angels praise?
All creation knows Your name
On earth and heaven above
What do I know of this love?

What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?”

“What Do I Know of Holy” Addison Road

I won’t hear that song on any other radio station.

college

Wow. I’m really done. I graduated this past Saturday. No more classes, projects, group assignments, or exams. No more campus organizations, no more Strom, no more Thomas Cooper. No more coliseum. No more football games as a student. That is weird. and I am having a little bit of trouble believing that these 4 years are over. People said it would go by fast, but I clearly did not understand what they were saying. Honestly, I am very sad. and also glad. I was ready to be done with school. but I wasn’t ready to be done with college. and even though I was ready to be done with school…I liked being a student.  I liked walking around campus with a bookbag on, and sitting in the Russell House between classes. I liked going to the Library, and being a gamecock. I’ll miss those things. I’ll probably miss getting books for class even though I hated it. I’ll miss knowing what’s going on on Greene Street. I’ll miss the canteen in the coliseum where I basically lived the last couple years.  I’m sure I will visit and walk on USC’s campus again, (hopefully Shay and Logan will go here, too) but it won’t be the same. Walking on the Horseshoe, or into Starbuck’s in Russell won’t be the same now that I’m no longer a student. I won’t know USC like I knew it these 4 years.  This is definitely bittersweet.  I realized at our graduation party the other night, there are literally people that I will never see again. Friends. that I will never see again. and others that it will be longer than I would like for it to be. It is an odd thing to have a way of life..the college way of life..where you can go over to a friends at any time of the day or night, and know who can hang out when, and then thats suddenly gone. Suddenly some of my friends aren’t in Columbia anymore. and they aren’t coming back this time. That’s hard.  but I am thankful for the friends that remain here, and am looking forward to enjoying my last summer in Columbia. I didn’t realize the end of college would make me so sentimental. I have definitely been more emotional the past few weeks than I have typically been my entire life. haha. Anyway it’s funny how plans change. A year ago I expected to be here much longer. So, I’m sad that college is over. It really is a special time, and I am so so thankful for everything the past 4 years has brought me. It has been a hard, challenging 4 years, but it’s been so great. I have had so much fun, and grown so much, and learned so much, and met the greatest people. but as I am really sad that this time of my life is over, I am still very excited about where I am headed. College was a great 4 years. but I’m confident the best years are ahead of me.

My advice to anyone that it’s not too late for. GO TO COLLEGE. Move out of your parents’ house. Live on a college campus. Get involved in some organizations. Find a church FAMILY. let the Lord stretch you and shape you. You will be glad you did.

words of the wise

“Sin brings death, period. You don’t get to sin in isolation. Your sin does not only affect you, it affects everyone around you.”

Taken from Melly Fresh’s blog.

world race

You may or may not know…I’m going on the World Race in July 2010.  It’s an 11 month mission trip to 11 different countries, and right now I don’t know the exact route I’ll be taking.  I will find out for sure in May at training camp.  I am super excited about it, and really pumped about all the things the  Lord is going to show and teach me during the 11 months I’m gone.

From here until June 2011, I will be blogging at kalibenthall.theworldrace.org.  I may randomly post on here, but for the most part if you want to hear about anything going on with me (especially after July), you’ll want to check there.

I would love any prayers for me, my future team, the Adventures In Missions/World Race staff, and the people I’ll be building relationships with in 11 different countries.  If you are at all interested in supporting me, it would be much appreciated, as I have to raise $14,300.

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”   Matthew 28:18-20

please, please pray

for this.

when i went to kenya, joska captured my heart.  i loved all the communities we spent time in, but this one stands apart from the others. while i only spent 3 days there, it was unbelievable how quickly and the magnitude with which my heart loved these people.  i left with tears and deeply long to go back.  i really love this community and the people there. this absolutely breaks my heart. please pray for these children.

Hope Rescue Centre (HOREC) is located in The 410 Bridge community of Joska and is a home to children who are orphaned by AIDS.  It was started by a group of Field Health workers, who saw the plight of these children and are trying to help the most vulnerable.  All of these children have been affected by the AIDS pandemic; and some have been diagnosed with HIV and are receiving treatment.

We heard very disturbing and tragic news from HOREC about two weeks ago.  We didn’t report this information right away because our Kenyan staff has been trying to get the facts of the incident.  We also wanted to inform the sponsors in the U.S. first.

Here is what we know…  In the middle of the night about two weeks ago, several men (perhaps as many as fifteen) armed with machete’s entered the HOREC compound in search of money.  They held the children in the main house for several hours threatening to kill a three year old boy if money was not found. When they determined that there was no money at the home, they attacked and raped two young girls (11 & 13) and the matron.

The gang of men robbed other homes in the area and to our knowledge they have not been caught. To the best of our knowledge, the search is continuing for the gang.

The police were called immediately after the gang left and the girls and matron were rushed to Nairobi hospital.  The 410 staff, along with our partner BrightPoint for Children, have arranged for counseling for the children and matron.  Joska leadership and the community have mobilized to comfort and counsel all the children who were deeply traumatized.

A wall was constructed by the community around HOREC and an alarm has been installed.  A village elder agreed to donate a plot of land for a police post. The leadership is working with the government officials to determine what the government can do to improve security in the area.

All of us at The 410 Bridge, along with our partner BrightPoint for Children, ask for your continued prayers for these children.  We don’t have words to express our  feelings of sadness and frustration over this crisis.  Please lift them up.

In Him,

this is a post from the 410bridge blog.

car rides

I’ve been trying to read Crazy Love by Francis Chan for like a year.  I asked for it for Christmas last year and finally started it sometime this summer.  Not that it’s not a great book…and I love to read but I just rarely find time for it.  But on the way back to Columbia from College Life weekend in Gatlinburg, I picked it up.  The book talks a lot about being lukewarm, and this one part was talking about the verses from Matthew 16:24-25.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

I know these verses.  I know I am to give up everything in order to follow my Savior.  I know I am to lose my life, or die to myself.  But I started thinking about the things that are easy for me to give up.  I don’t have a problem with the Lord being the one to decide where I live for the rest of my life, or the next few months, or what type of job I am to have, if I am to have a job, or if I am to get married.  I would gladly move across the world or country, or into an unsafe neighborhood, live off of less so that others can have more and trust the Lord to provide, be a part of a church plant, or dedicate my life to working in ministry, and often even desire to do those things.  It hasn’t been all that hard for me to give up my plans and desires, and I’ve learned to not make as many with the realization that the Lord will likely have something else in mind.  That isn’t really the hard part.

Then I started to think about dying to myself daily.  I can die to my long-term plans, that’s fine, but what do I do to make sure I am giving everything up each day of my life?  What do I do to put myself last in every circumstance?  What do I do to constantly show others the grace I’ve been shown?  How do I love the people around me in every look, word, and action?  Do I love the Lord with all my heart, mind, and soul?  Every single day?  How hard do I work to make sure I get time alone with my Savior everyday? and a whole day with Him once a week?  Do I fight the temptations of Satan, the world, and my flesh as hard as I can everyday?  How often do I stop asking for things and just praise my Father in heaven?  Am I pointing others towards Him every single time they look at me?  Am I a walking picture of Jesus on this earth?  Do I have an attitude that is the same as that of Christ Jesus?

Not nearly enough.

Luke 14:33 says “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”