As you may or may not know, this month I started an internship with Gator Christian Life at the University of Florida. To do this, I was charged with building a support team, who would agree to pray for my ministry at UF and to raise $16,000 for the twelve month internship. Many of my friends throughout the years have had to raise a smaller amount of support for short term mission trips to the Dominican Republic or Spain or to our summer projects at other universities and were already familiar with the process, but I had no such stepping stone. I had never been on a foreign mission trip or on a summer project. The only mission trips I had taken in all my years at UF were domestic and had a grand total cost of maybe about fifty bucks for gas and cheep food. I had no idea what support raising entailed nor did I even know how much $16,000 actually was, I had no idea if that was large or small or what. As a college student I had never made or even seen money like that. I'd never looked at car prices or other large purchase like that for me to even compare or know how much that money was even worth. I was used to measuring money in, "How many gum balls can I buy with that?" To me, 16000 was just a number. I had no idea how easy or difficult it would be to raise this money.
Nor did I have any idea what people's reactions would be. I had heard of so many different experiences from different people on what support raising was like, many of them unpleasant. In addition to prayer, I would be asking for money. People like their money. It's a scary thing to ask for.
I knew the Biblical principals of support raising as a head knowledge. I had read about how Paul encouraged the church in Corinth and Galatia to give the the needy church in Jerusalem [I Cor 16:1-4]. Did that not describe GCL as a needy church full of college students with no income to tithe from? I knew what I Corinthians 9 said about not muzzling an ox when he is threshing and how the minister has the right to be paid for his ministry if he chose to take it, and about how Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew all left their secular jobs to follow Christ (though ministers are highly needed in the workplace) while Paul remained as a tent maker so as not to take advantage of the right he had mentioned in I Corinthians 9, though even he was supported by the church in Macedonia [II Cor 11:9]. I had read how John encouraged the church in III John 1:5-8 to give even to ministers who were strangers if they were preaching the true Gospel. I had countless verses, but it was still all a head knowledge. Knowing the facts had little effect on my fear of human judgement.
To be honest, I had expected to hate the summer. I was afraid I would form this hard heart that saw support raising as a "necessary evil" that I had to suffer through in order to get to the good part of the work in Gainesville. But once the process started, I discovered that I couldn't have been more wrong!
Of course, there was the occasional less-than-ideal conversation, but I found that the whole experience was even actually quite enjoyable. There is no denying that I am an introvert, but I still loved having this process as the perfect excuse to call old friends I hadn't talked to in a while and catch up, hearing how I could be praying for them in addition to telling them how they could be praying for me. In addition, I got to make new friendships, meeting new people who were interested in what I was doing. All of a sudden, it wasn't about money any more. Yes, I was asking for money, but it became more about relationships and friendships. Wasn't that a big part of the reason I wanted to do ministry anyways? To form and build relationships?
Besides learning that support raising could be enjoyed as relationship builder, I learned a lot about God's grace. Even though parts of the process were enjoyable, it was still a tiring experience, and there were many many times when I dreaded the time I had to my "support raising desk" my parents let me use. There were times where I said, "well, I guess I'll end a little early tonight," or I'll start making calls a little late." Though I did work hard this summer, it was very apparent to me that the support that came in was not due to my own efforts, but due to God's grace in the times I certainly did not deserve it.
And of course, I learned so much about how generous God's people can be. I talked to and met so many people who have such a heart to see God glorified, people who fit perfectly the description of the cheerful giver in II Cor 9, who gives from the supply God gave them, giving glory to God, so that those they give too can in turn also give glory to God. It amazed me how those who even have little gave out of what little they had. As an example, I had determined not to even contact one family other than to ask for prayer because I knew that they were going through a rough time financially. But without even asking, I received a facebook message from the mother in the family saying that she had committed to fast one day a week so she could pray for me and afford to support me. And as if that wasn't more than enough they offered for me to use their car for the year so that I could easily go from my pastor's house where I am living to campus for my internship and classes. I was overwhelmed by the generosity!
I was particularly amazed at those who gave who really did not even know me before this summer. I had had this fear that I would not live up to people's expectations of me during this internship, that people would feel like they waisted their hard-earned money on me. But seeing people give when they didn't really even know me was proof to me that these brothers and sisters were not giving because they trusted me. They didn't even know me. They give because they trust God who knows them intimately. They give because they know that no matter who I am other than a son of God and a willing vessel, that the God we both trust is going to do some awesome stuff this year. And I fully expect that He will!
Monday, September 15, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
The Voice of the LORD
One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm
29 because it is all about the voice of the LORD.
As someone who spent most of his
childhood taking vocal lessons, studying and learning how to make my voice
“powerful,” I read this Psalm in amazement at the sheer power of His voice.
I remember a vocal exercise that I
used to do, back when I was learning about breath control, where a candle was
lit and held up in front of my mouth. The goal of this exercise was to sing
with such power and breath control that the sound from my lungs would cause the
flame to flicker.
I read verse 7, which in the NKJV
says,
“The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire,”
and I imagine how powerful His voice is that it could put
out all those fires in Southern California with a single note. And here I am
with my little squeak trying to make a little candle flicker.
The voice of the LORD is powerful
enough to level the cedars of Lebanon, which were known throughout the Bible to
be huge in lush and thick forests.
My favorite verse in this
particular Psalm is verse 9, which begins:
“The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth…”
The reason this first half of the verse
stood out to me so much, is because I am a visual learner, so my notes from my
reading usually have a lot of pictures in them to get me to remember them
better. This was the picture I drew for this Psalm:
Even with all of my training and
studying and practicing, there is no way I could make my voice powerful enough
to level cedars and split huge flames and scare a poor dear into labor!
But my number one favorite part of
the whole Psalm does not come until near the very end:
“…and in his temple all cry, “Glory!””
This
entire Psalm so far was about the voice of the LORD, and now, at the very end
is where we come in. Here at the very end is the whole reason I went through
all that training, so that I could use my
voice to make a powerful and natural response to the glory of His voice. Just like the deer responded to God’s glory by giving birth,
we respond through imitation. Is this not what musical worship is about? We,
those who are “in His temple,” are crying out “Glory!” in response to His
glory!
So
next time you are worshipping God through song, make a joyful noise! Sing with
power, in imitation of His power! Sing loud! Sing strong! It doesn’t have to
sound good. Just as good as you can make it. After all, none of us can make a
sound that compares the sounds He makes. Our job as worshippers is to make a
gift to the LORD saying, “This is the best imitation I could make of who You
are!”
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Need vs. Desire
This last week, I was honored to be included at the GCL staff team planning retreat, where the staff members get together every year to discuss what the church is going to look like in this upcoming year. A significant part of this time involves dividing up responsibilities amongst the staff team based on what we are specifically passionate about and what needs there are in the church. I was so happy to see two of my good friends who plan to be returning to Gainesville in August after a year or more of being gone raising support. For me, it was easy to say I would be excited about building onto what responsibilities I already have, but for my two friends, it seemed strange, since they are essentially starting from scratch.
It reminded me of a similar situation I was in three years ago, when I left Gainesville for seven months to work in the Disney College Program. When I left, I had been co-leading a music team for two years and I left with the agreement that my co-leader would take care of the team while I was gone and when she graduated, I would return and take the music team from there. But upon my return, seven months later, I found that my music team had been given to someone else. The only aspect in which I had been serving for years, had been given to someone else, who was already leading a homegroup as well as leading in many other ways. I now had nothing. I was like a freshman again. People even forgot that I even led the music team before I left.
I think this was the first time I had really been faced with the idea of my own replaceabilty. This was the first time that I realized that I am not needed, that the church will not fall apart without me. Now that I look back at this anecdote three years later, it reminds me of a verse that I really did not understand even until just this last Christmas break:
It reminded me of a similar situation I was in three years ago, when I left Gainesville for seven months to work in the Disney College Program. When I left, I had been co-leading a music team for two years and I left with the agreement that my co-leader would take care of the team while I was gone and when she graduated, I would return and take the music team from there. But upon my return, seven months later, I found that my music team had been given to someone else. The only aspect in which I had been serving for years, had been given to someone else, who was already leading a homegroup as well as leading in many other ways. I now had nothing. I was like a freshman again. People even forgot that I even led the music team before I left.
I think this was the first time I had really been faced with the idea of my own replaceabilty. This was the first time that I realized that I am not needed, that the church will not fall apart without me. Now that I look back at this anecdote three years later, it reminds me of a verse that I really did not understand even until just this last Christmas break:
"Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be..."
-I Peter 5:2a
I should lead and serve not because I am needed (because I am not needed), but simply because I want to. If only I had understood this verse at the time, I would not have had the prideful thought in my mind that I was the entitled to the music team when I came back and that I was the only one who could lead it.
This lesson of Need vs. Desire is a lesson I wish I had learned much earlier in my college career. I spent five and a half years with the mindset of, "I will do well with the job I have been given. Then someone will notice how well I do and give me more. Then I will have increased responsibility and I will climb the ladder of my own ambition." After all doesn't Luke 16:10 say, "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much..."? But this mindset led to such a vicious jealousy when I didn't get noticed and I wasn't given increased responsibilities. I began comparing myself with the people around me, thinking, "Why is this person being given all these responsibilities? Why is that person leading a homegroup and a music team and teaching on Sunday and this and that and still being asked to do more, and yet I have been leading the same music team for five years and have done nothing else except a brief interlude of homegroup leading over the summer. It must be because I am inadequate and unworthy and doing a poor job, that no one asks me to do more." I even began to be dissatisfied with the work I had been given.
It was not until this Christmas break that I realized (after reading I Peter 5:2) that it is really more Biblical to volunteer than it is to wait to be asked.
Now, I understand the hesitation. I'm sure we have all seen those people who will claim a responsibility out of pride (I know I have). They will volunteer to take a responsibility or leadership role, assuming that they will be granted their request, because they assume that they are the best for the job. We think that volunteering is pride and waiting to be asked is meekness and humility. After all, the meek "will inherit the earth" and didn't Jesus say, "...do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited... but when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he many say to you, 'Friend move up higher..."? [Luke 14:8-10].
But I will argue that volunteering with the right attitude (volunteering with desire, rather than entitlement) is not prideful, it is bold. And waiting to be asked is a false humility, confused with timidity, and "God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline." [II Timothy 1:7] It is actually waiting to be asked that is prideful, expecting that someone will recognize the great work that I have done. It is actually volunteering that is a humbling experience because I am presenting myself to have my work judged. It is saying, "this is what I would desire to do and I am submitting myself to your discretion as to whether or not you will let me do it."
And I will say that it is good that we are not needed, but that we desire to serve. Need is obligation and desire is passion. If we serve out of obligation, the result is less than desirable, but if we serve because we are passionate about something, we will put so much more into it and the result is that much better, and God receives all the more glory, and isn't that really our goal in the first place? My former mindset was rooted in climbing the perceived ladder of influence and ambition, but that is not what ministry is about. Ministry is solely about bringing glory to our God, who loved us enough to die for us! That is what I am passionate about!
So if you feel like you are constantly being passed up or overlooked for serving opportunities, stop waiting. Volunteer for what you're passionate about and see what happens.
"You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask."
-James 4:2
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Week of Boasting II Corinthians 12
4 December 2013 at 08:36 PM
Week of Boasting: II Corinthians 12
Day 7:
As I look at all the boastable qualities of these men and of so many others [II Cor 12:1-5], it would be so easy to try and compare their godly characteristics and achievements to the thorns I have in my own flesh, the inadequacies that God has allowed in my life to keep my humble[II Cor 12:7]. I ask, like Paul, "Lord, take this thorn away from me," [II Cor 12:8] or even jealously boast in myself or even try to tear my brothers down to make myself feel more adequate to serve along-side them. Or I complain, "Lord, why do I not have all the boastable qualities or accomplishments they have?" But then He answers me, "Because My grace is sufficient for you [II Cor 12:9]. Why are you in want of more?[Ps 23:1]" And then my jealousy is silenced, because I have no argument against such a truth.
His grace is more than sufficient for me. For it is by His grace alone that I am saved! When I was doomed to die for my sin, His grace meant that Jesus Christ came to take all my sinful deeds upon himself and die in my place! What could I possibly boast in light of that? It is not by my own works or accomplishments that I am saved, so that I cannot boast [Eph 2:8-9].
So today, on my last day of this week of boasting, I will boast in Jesus Christ. In His death and His resurrection! In His love for me that He would die for me.
My boasting is for them.
My boasting is for Him.
His grace is sufficient for me.
Day 6: Tim Edminster-
Let me boast today in my discipler, Dr. Timothy Edminster, who literally saves lives. He's a super smart pharmacist who daily deals with all kinds of patients at Shands Hospital. He loves to spend valuable one-on-one time with people and is also a great listener. He is also one of those couple of guys that I feel comfortable telling everything to. He is never judgmental. In fact, when my advice to myself might be somewhere along the lines of, "stop whining and get over it," Tim is always patient with me and has a true understanding of the difference between logical advice and emotional support. He is always ready and willing to give both. He has one of the busiest schedules I have seen, and yet he still finds a way, after a long and stressful day at work, to coordinate Sunday Service, go to PIT with Devon and Michael, and disciple John Cassel and me, even if that means losing sleep. He is very creative in everything he does and loves to jump in to serve in any way he can. He is definitely a huge blessing to have around and I know God's got a lot of great things planned for him!
Day 5: Devon Lundine-
Devon (known in my phone as "Devon the Listener") doesn't think of himself as a great communicator, but I have a much different perspective. Devon is by far one of the best listeners I know, which is much more than half of what communication is! He'll stay up late at night just to listen to me talk about all my issues and give me wisdom and encouragement when I have none. In fact, he is one of a couple people I feel most comfortable sharing everything with. His amazing ability to listen brings with it an intuition that has saved me on multiple occasions. He is the first to notice when I'm not feeling well or to jump to my rescue when nobody else knows that anything is wrong. He is also super generous. He has been loaning me his car to get to work for a year and a half and it has been such a huge blessing to me. He is a great homegroup leader and disciple group leader and, like I said about Michael yesterday, is also a part of PIT (Pastors in Training). Also as I said yesterday, Devon was personally asked by Herschel Martindale to take a trip to the Caribbean to scope out the mission field for Tom Short. He is a mean trombonist and just helped bring Buchholz High School's marching band to win a huge competition. His girlfriend is an amazing percussionist... like the Yo Yo Ma of percussion instruments. I can't even start to explain how much I love this guy or how much I know God is going to work through him.
Day 4: Michael Ashton-
Seriously? What is there to not boast about with my roommate, Michael Ashton? So much so, that I don't even have a permanent name for him in my phone because he is constantly doing things that make it difficult to choose which great quality to name him after. He is seriously really good at everything. His fingers can play amazing sounds on the guitar that shouldn't even be humanly possible. I remember the first time I heard him sing, I was so excited to be living with somebody I could sing with again (which hadn't happened since I lived with my sister). Nia and I spent almost a whole semester trying to convince him to sing on a team (though he didn't finally agree until Andrew Gordon mentioned in passing, "Hey, you should sing on the team"). Now he very strongly leads one of the music teams at our church, with so much enthusiasm, he makes Richard Simmons look like Ben Stein. He has been an excellent homegroup leader and 12th Terrace leader and disciple group leader. Even his disciples are excellent leaders in the church. He is a wonderful evangelist. I feel like every time I talk to him, he is saying something along the lines of, "Oh yeah. I went to class today, shared the Gospel and then winked and then the whole class gave their lives to Christ." He has gone on multiple mission trips to the Dominican Republic and picked up Spanish like the Hulk would pick up a feather. He is a part of PIT (Pastors In Training), a group of influential men in our church that meet every two weeks and he even occasionally teaches at Sunday Service. He is the go-to guy for everything for the pastors. In fact, he was personally asked recently by Herschel Martindale himself (the guy who basically invented Great Commission Ministries, our world-wide movement of churches), to take a three day trip to three countries in the Caribbean with my other roommate, Devon, to scope out the place and prepare for Tom Short to go on mission there. And all this, while winning the heart of one pretty young lady, this recent October. I can't even touch the surface of this guy's boast-able achievements.
Day 3: Samuel Mirtil-
If you know my roommate Sam Mirtil (or "Sam the Joyful" as he is in my phone), you probably know that he has a permanent smile tattooed onto his face. For those who don't know him, he doesn't literally have a tattoo on his face, I really just mean he is always smiling. Sam is always laughing and smiling through every possible situation. He once told me, "I got evicted from my apartment," with a huge smile on his face. He is also really patient. You could bring a party with noise makers and elephants in his room while he's trying to sleep, and he would just smile at you and not complain. He plays a mean saxophone. He played on our music team for a semester playing beautiful saxophone duets with Heather. Also, he used to be in a gang in elementary school, so if he were a less patient man, my roommate could probably beat up your roommate.
Day 2: Jacob Lehman-
Let me boast for a minute about my roommate, Jacob Lehman (or as he is listed in my phone "Jacob the Giving"). This guy is such a lover of spending quality time with people. He is great at using every possible opportunity, be it taking a trip to the McDonalds or Kangaroo, or tending our garden with me, or staying back a couple more minutes so he can walk to class with you. Of course, one of my favorite qualities of his, is his giving nature. He is so selfless with his time and his energy. He is always the one who gives up his time to go grocery shopping for the rest of us. One time, he spent days working diligently on fixing our dryer, dissecting it and replacing complicated pieces. He is such a handyman and gentleman. He is always fixing things at the girls' house next door, from their lawn mower, to their dishwasher, washer and dryer, microwave, water heater, hole in their roof, mailbox, Heather's dresser drawer, and I am sure, much more. He set an arsenal of rat traps for the girls and took the lead on taking our cat, Killer, to the vet when he had his staff infection. He's an excellent leader in his homegroup and on 12th Terrace and has been chosen to lead morning prayer for our community here in the Spring. I'm very excited to see what God's going to be doing through my roommate!
Day 1: Michael Rodeman-
Allow me to boast in my roommate, Michael Rodeman (or as he is listed in my phone "Rodeman the Apologist"). From the moment he was saved, I noticed two characteristics that he received upon salvation. The first is his humor. I can't really say that I am certain that humor is a spiritual gift, but if it was, he got it. From the random screeching pterodactyl imitations he makes to the funny phrases that come out of his mouth, his absurdity cannot be beat. The second is his love for apologetics. I remember the first time I shared the Gospel alongside Mr. Rodeman, we spoke to a guy who didn't believe in God and when I was about to give up, because I had nothing to more I could say, Rodeman went off on a very knowledgeable apologetic defense, spouting off facts I couldn't even dream of storing in my head (and this only maybe a week after he himself was saved!). He is also took it upon himself to try to organize what he called the Veritas Forum, where famous Christians and non-Christians would get together at UF and sometimes hold a debate. He also changed his major to Soil and Water Science because he wanted to dig wells in third world countries and reach the nations through that. I have no doubt that God has great plans for my roommate, Michael Rodeman and I love to boast in my brother!
Day 7:
As I look at all the boastable qualities of these men and of so many others [II Cor 12:1-5], it would be so easy to try and compare their godly characteristics and achievements to the thorns I have in my own flesh, the inadequacies that God has allowed in my life to keep my humble[II Cor 12:7]. I ask, like Paul, "Lord, take this thorn away from me," [II Cor 12:8] or even jealously boast in myself or even try to tear my brothers down to make myself feel more adequate to serve along-side them. Or I complain, "Lord, why do I not have all the boastable qualities or accomplishments they have?" But then He answers me, "Because My grace is sufficient for you [II Cor 12:9]. Why are you in want of more?[Ps 23:1]" And then my jealousy is silenced, because I have no argument against such a truth.
His grace is more than sufficient for me. For it is by His grace alone that I am saved! When I was doomed to die for my sin, His grace meant that Jesus Christ came to take all my sinful deeds upon himself and die in my place! What could I possibly boast in light of that? It is not by my own works or accomplishments that I am saved, so that I cannot boast [Eph 2:8-9].
So today, on my last day of this week of boasting, I will boast in Jesus Christ. In His death and His resurrection! In His love for me that He would die for me.
My boasting is for them.
My boasting is for Him.
His grace is sufficient for me.
Day 6: Tim Edminster-
Let me boast today in my discipler, Dr. Timothy Edminster, who literally saves lives. He's a super smart pharmacist who daily deals with all kinds of patients at Shands Hospital. He loves to spend valuable one-on-one time with people and is also a great listener. He is also one of those couple of guys that I feel comfortable telling everything to. He is never judgmental. In fact, when my advice to myself might be somewhere along the lines of, "stop whining and get over it," Tim is always patient with me and has a true understanding of the difference between logical advice and emotional support. He is always ready and willing to give both. He has one of the busiest schedules I have seen, and yet he still finds a way, after a long and stressful day at work, to coordinate Sunday Service, go to PIT with Devon and Michael, and disciple John Cassel and me, even if that means losing sleep. He is very creative in everything he does and loves to jump in to serve in any way he can. He is definitely a huge blessing to have around and I know God's got a lot of great things planned for him!
Day 5: Devon Lundine-
Devon (known in my phone as "Devon the Listener") doesn't think of himself as a great communicator, but I have a much different perspective. Devon is by far one of the best listeners I know, which is much more than half of what communication is! He'll stay up late at night just to listen to me talk about all my issues and give me wisdom and encouragement when I have none. In fact, he is one of a couple people I feel most comfortable sharing everything with. His amazing ability to listen brings with it an intuition that has saved me on multiple occasions. He is the first to notice when I'm not feeling well or to jump to my rescue when nobody else knows that anything is wrong. He is also super generous. He has been loaning me his car to get to work for a year and a half and it has been such a huge blessing to me. He is a great homegroup leader and disciple group leader and, like I said about Michael yesterday, is also a part of PIT (Pastors in Training). Also as I said yesterday, Devon was personally asked by Herschel Martindale to take a trip to the Caribbean to scope out the mission field for Tom Short. He is a mean trombonist and just helped bring Buchholz High School's marching band to win a huge competition. His girlfriend is an amazing percussionist... like the Yo Yo Ma of percussion instruments. I can't even start to explain how much I love this guy or how much I know God is going to work through him.
Day 4: Michael Ashton-
Seriously? What is there to not boast about with my roommate, Michael Ashton? So much so, that I don't even have a permanent name for him in my phone because he is constantly doing things that make it difficult to choose which great quality to name him after. He is seriously really good at everything. His fingers can play amazing sounds on the guitar that shouldn't even be humanly possible. I remember the first time I heard him sing, I was so excited to be living with somebody I could sing with again (which hadn't happened since I lived with my sister). Nia and I spent almost a whole semester trying to convince him to sing on a team (though he didn't finally agree until Andrew Gordon mentioned in passing, "Hey, you should sing on the team"). Now he very strongly leads one of the music teams at our church, with so much enthusiasm, he makes Richard Simmons look like Ben Stein. He has been an excellent homegroup leader and 12th Terrace leader and disciple group leader. Even his disciples are excellent leaders in the church. He is a wonderful evangelist. I feel like every time I talk to him, he is saying something along the lines of, "Oh yeah. I went to class today, shared the Gospel and then winked and then the whole class gave their lives to Christ." He has gone on multiple mission trips to the Dominican Republic and picked up Spanish like the Hulk would pick up a feather. He is a part of PIT (Pastors In Training), a group of influential men in our church that meet every two weeks and he even occasionally teaches at Sunday Service. He is the go-to guy for everything for the pastors. In fact, he was personally asked recently by Herschel Martindale himself (the guy who basically invented Great Commission Ministries, our world-wide movement of churches), to take a three day trip to three countries in the Caribbean with my other roommate, Devon, to scope out the place and prepare for Tom Short to go on mission there. And all this, while winning the heart of one pretty young lady, this recent October. I can't even touch the surface of this guy's boast-able achievements.
Day 3: Samuel Mirtil-
If you know my roommate Sam Mirtil (or "Sam the Joyful" as he is in my phone), you probably know that he has a permanent smile tattooed onto his face. For those who don't know him, he doesn't literally have a tattoo on his face, I really just mean he is always smiling. Sam is always laughing and smiling through every possible situation. He once told me, "I got evicted from my apartment," with a huge smile on his face. He is also really patient. You could bring a party with noise makers and elephants in his room while he's trying to sleep, and he would just smile at you and not complain. He plays a mean saxophone. He played on our music team for a semester playing beautiful saxophone duets with Heather. Also, he used to be in a gang in elementary school, so if he were a less patient man, my roommate could probably beat up your roommate.
Day 2: Jacob Lehman-
Let me boast for a minute about my roommate, Jacob Lehman (or as he is listed in my phone "Jacob the Giving"). This guy is such a lover of spending quality time with people. He is great at using every possible opportunity, be it taking a trip to the McDonalds or Kangaroo, or tending our garden with me, or staying back a couple more minutes so he can walk to class with you. Of course, one of my favorite qualities of his, is his giving nature. He is so selfless with his time and his energy. He is always the one who gives up his time to go grocery shopping for the rest of us. One time, he spent days working diligently on fixing our dryer, dissecting it and replacing complicated pieces. He is such a handyman and gentleman. He is always fixing things at the girls' house next door, from their lawn mower, to their dishwasher, washer and dryer, microwave, water heater, hole in their roof, mailbox, Heather's dresser drawer, and I am sure, much more. He set an arsenal of rat traps for the girls and took the lead on taking our cat, Killer, to the vet when he had his staff infection. He's an excellent leader in his homegroup and on 12th Terrace and has been chosen to lead morning prayer for our community here in the Spring. I'm very excited to see what God's going to be doing through my roommate!
Day 1: Michael Rodeman-
Allow me to boast in my roommate, Michael Rodeman (or as he is listed in my phone "Rodeman the Apologist"). From the moment he was saved, I noticed two characteristics that he received upon salvation. The first is his humor. I can't really say that I am certain that humor is a spiritual gift, but if it was, he got it. From the random screeching pterodactyl imitations he makes to the funny phrases that come out of his mouth, his absurdity cannot be beat. The second is his love for apologetics. I remember the first time I shared the Gospel alongside Mr. Rodeman, we spoke to a guy who didn't believe in God and when I was about to give up, because I had nothing to more I could say, Rodeman went off on a very knowledgeable apologetic defense, spouting off facts I couldn't even dream of storing in my head (and this only maybe a week after he himself was saved!). He is also took it upon himself to try to organize what he called the Veritas Forum, where famous Christians and non-Christians would get together at UF and sometimes hold a debate. He also changed his major to Soil and Water Science because he wanted to dig wells in third world countries and reach the nations through that. I have no doubt that God has great plans for my roommate, Michael Rodeman and I love to boast in my brother!
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