G.R.I.T.

The Home "Stretch"

It's Friday afternoon right before dinner. I have started a rough draft in English for what I plan on teaching in Japanese next Sunday. We won't be in town Wednesday and Thursday because we'll be at the YMCA Camp we went to before, cleaning and doing whatever else they ask us to do.

I'm looking forward to it because it will stretch me again like it did the first time. However, I'd like to be able to take all day on Thursday, our "off day," to get the rest of the sermon prep done. Luckily, we don't exactly have much to do that Saturday so I think that I still have enough time to prepare, but it is in no way going to be easy for me.

I'm actually excited to talk about and share with the Japanese people something we share- namely, faith. I'll be speaking from Genesis 12 and Hebrews 11 about the faith of Abram / Abraham. It's totally something God's been teaching me for a long long time (and I still haven't quite learned it all just yet I think) so maybe I can help them out, encourage them and even teach someone there something new.

When I was younger, I was more adventurous. The older I got, the more "security" I wanted. The safer I wanted to play the game. The more planning I wanted to do. Personally, that is still a big part of me and my life. I'm always thinking about what's next and would love for God to drop me a 5-year plan. But that's not how He works. Now, I'm learning to live out the adventure of life while still doing the right things. That's what faith is "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)

Saturday morning has rolled around and I'm about to "lead a discussion" on Hurdles we can all face in mentoring. There are numerous ones, but the book lists 4. I'd like to think I'm a good leader, teacher, whatever... but the truth is that most of the time I don't think about what other people will think, feel, etc. I think, "this seems logical and loving to me so I am going to do that" (most of the time) That's not the best way to lead, but it is a starting point. The biggest thing for me right now is learning to lead and follow at the same time.

Guys have it very hard in relationships. Not that women don't have it difficult, but that as men we must follow God and lead the woman where God is leading us. This is true in any group- it's hard to follow and lead at the same time. It's "a cord of three strands that isn't easily broken" and yet have you ever tried doing anything with a cord of 3 strands in comparison to just 1 strand? I think the difference is vast, but especially so when you're considering bigger threads.

The church today is usually acting like a stubborn donkey instead of an ox yoked with Christ. He is leading us, taking every step of the way as a leader should. I think that's one of the best things about GRIT is that Norman doesn't just drill-sergeant us all the way to Tokyo. Rather, he walks every step with us. I'm not putting him on a pedestal necessarily, but it is something to consider.

Think about it this way: When was the last time you had someone do something with you that usually that person or someone else usually tells you to do? Ever had someone help you make your bed instead of doing it by yourself? That's the idea behind the thought here. We're in this together to accomplish a purpose greater than we could by ourselves. With Christ we can do everything, without Him we can do nothing. He is the vine, and we are trying to grow on our own. We must both lead others while we follow Christ. If we don't, we'll end up missing the boat one way or the other.

posted by Jacob @ 7:29 PM