Strings

Picture this: a string... that shouldn't be too difficult, right? Being a college student, it's the simple things that make a difference (like fresh laundry, good food, days off, etc.)

Being a musician at heart and somewhat by hand, I love stringed instruments. Salvation is pictured by strings. The Gospel is that we are strings. By ourselves, we have little or no worth. Our significance is based purely on the fact that we are created by God. God's creation and our significance cannot be separated! Thankfully, Christ didn't just create us though. We were created for a purpose, a reason for living. Christ created us so that we would worship Him. Ever since the Fall, we have struggled with wanting to worship Him and ourselves, but one day the struggle will end! The design has been created, is being sustained, and will be restored!

Our lives are like strings in the sense that we are also strapped. As creation, because of Adam, we are naturally bound to where we don't belong. Picture a string strapped onto the wrong instrument. It just doesn't work too well. Similarly, we were once trapped in sin. We belonged to a master who controlled our lives; we were our own masters.

But praise God the story doesn't end there! Everything happens according to His design, so even though we did and do mess up, God still shows grace! God frees His children from captivity, so the string is loosed from the wrong instrument. We are indeed free from sin, but again praise God the story doesn't end there! God still shows grace.

We are not simply free from one instrument and loosed into the air. Rather, we were bound, are loosed so that we can be bound once more.

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1).

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:12-14).

One last thought: It is when the strings are pressed in various places that beautiful music comes out and if our lives are strings, what does that mean for the trials we face? And with that question, I recommend James chapter 1.

Making pens and making a difference!

www.facebook.com/PatrickCustomPens
www.stellasvoice.org

Archery and Pens (AP)

Only those of you who have shook my hand can laugh at this, but I actually absolutely enjoy archery! (P.S. If you have shook hands with me, hopefully you both get the joke and did laugh. If not, your bad). :P

Anyway, I love being outdoors and shooting a bow and arrow is also quite therapeutic! It is also pretty therapeutic to make pens and it is also absolutely enjoyable! In archery, you often aim at something but miss the mark. Missing the mark is part of life though. In fact, in this life we ultimately always miss the mark, which is why Christ came! "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

In the same way shooting bows and arrows is something I can do that I enjoy, making pens is something I love and I would love nothing more than to make pens and make a difference! I know I will miss the mark, but God shows grace and I realize my need for it! My life wouldn't exist if God didn't show grace and this will never happen without His grace!

Making pens and making a difference!
Daniel Patrick

Crutches, Comforts, Challenges

As I am listening to "All I Have" by Tenth Avenue North, I can't help but think how true the opening is: "Forgive me, Lord for thinking you could ever need me." Somehow, because of the society we live in and the lies they offer, I honestly think we believe God needs us. Truth is, God doesn't need us, we need Him. "All I Have is Yours, oh Lord."

As a Christian, I can very much relate to those who have the need for crutches. Crutches are used for support, which everyone needs. However, as a Christian, I do not think Jesus is interested in being just a crutch. Crutches just lend some support; they don't totally give full support.

So here is my proposition: Other believers are crutches Christ gives us because He is in complete control. We literally cannot make a move if it were not for the sovereign act of God.

As a side note, I got to thinking about this because of the old adage, "Words come back to haunt you." My life verse is II Corinthians 12:9 which says, "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'

That right there is enough to make you think, but the verse doesn't stop there! Paul responds with a bold statement, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Now I will admit that I am no theologian, but I am aware that there is controversy as to whether or not the context here of a thorn being in Paul's side is literal or figurative. I have my own opinion, but regardless, I can somewhat empathize. My sin is a constant reminder, that's for sure.

So, if Paul is referring to his past sins, which he certainly had, I can definitely relate! But to steal a quote from the song "The Struggle" by the band Tenth Avenue North, "Hallelujah, we are free to struggle; we're not struggling to be free."

The other interpretation is that Paul's condition is actually physical. And I can somewhat relate. I have a bad knee, but the difference is Satan didn't put this one in me; I did. The reason my knee hurts is a result of my own stupidity, but that's a different story for a different post on a different day!

I leave you all with these challenges/encouragements:

1 - Surround yourself with people who are supportive. That doesn't mean ones who just agree with you and do what you do. Diversity is a good thing. You have weaknesses and strengths and as a body, we are supposed to put all those parts together.
2 - Don't be stupid. Clear cut and simple. My mistakes cost me literally in this life and have eternal consequences, too. Thankfully, Christ died for my sins and so I have "redemption through His blood" (Ephesians 1:7).

But all of that would sound like a bunch of things to do and would miss the point of the passage!

3 - Remember God's grace is more than enough. He loves you and me despite the fact that we mess up. However, He does not love the messes we make. Comforts come with challenges. Paul put it well when he asked and answered, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

So the comfort is based on the finished work of Christ, but the challenge is that the work we are doing as a result of that finished work on the Cross is unfinished. To quote the 7 dwarves from Snow White and the Dwarfs, "It's off to work we go!"

Making pens and making a difference!
Daniel Patrick

Movement

For those of you who read this, you should have seen the video of the TED Talk by Derek Sivers. Well, as much info as is packed into that short clip with plenty of food for thought, I wanted to share some of my own, so here goes:

The shirtless dancing guy is God, the Father, the first follower is Christ, the Son of God and the momentum is the Holy Spirit. Let me explain:

The shirtless dancing guy starts something, right? Well, as a believer to fellow believers, God started it all (Genesis 1:1). Jesus was there and created everything too, so you might be asking, "Well, why isn't Jesus the first shirtless dancing guy?" 

An argument can be made either way I will admit, but the reason I chose to put it this way is that Christ claims that He is "Doing the Will of His Father" countless times in Scripture (John 6:38). In that regard, then, Jesus is the first follower who has the guts to stand out and be ridiculed. Nowhere is this more beautifully pictured than at the Cross where, to quote the song At the Foot of the Cross, "Grace and suffering meet."

Lastly, the Holy Spirit is the momentum, or the force that makes it all possible. Without the Holy Spirit, it is still just two dancing guys looking goofy.

So let's recap: The first shirtless dancing guy gets the credit, but the first follower transforms the lone nut into a leader and momentum occurs and a movement is started. That video is a picture of God at work. All three persons of God are working together to start a movement! The question is, will we join that movement?

Love is the movement!

Making pens and making a difference!

Daniel Patrick

Pondering Prodigality

To quote Julie Andrews from The Sound of Music, "Let's start at the beginning. A very good place to start." However, rather than attempt to sing virtually or teach you how to sing (since I am not that great at either) I use that to say let's look at the definition of prodigal.

Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines prodigal as "recklessly spendthrift." Basically, to keep this post short and sweet, the point I want to make is that God truly is prodigal to us and our perspective is powerful!

As a Christian, here I am blessed beyond belief because of my belief, but yet I find myself complaining about what I do and don't have. It is in this context with regards to money that the writer of Hebrews says, "Be content with such things as you have." But the verse doesn't just end with that command. Instead it gives the motivation and the power to carry it out. "Because God has said, 'Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

So yes, I may not have the most money and all the things of the "good life" but I have Christ and that is a "good life" here in this life but far more importantly in the next life! And remember, God is prodigal to us and our perspective is powerful, so be looking for ways God is showing His prodigality to you, because He truly is all the time!

Weakness

Being a pretty big Lord of the Rings fan, let me begin with a quote from Gandalf (at this point he is Gandalf the White), "I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil."

As a guy, I know tears and crying are not manly words and definitely not actions. However, I think a lot can be said about a man who is able to cry at times and that ability says a lot, too! As a guy, I know I feel a lot of pressure to be strong and not show too much emotion. And while this is true and necessary, I think it can go way too far! As men, we do need to be strong, but strength doesn't mean you don't have any weaknesses. This is a beautiful passage that illustrates this point.

     "Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
     Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
     But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
     That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
-II Corinthians 12:7b-10

Now I don't know about you, but that seems like a pretty big statement Paul makes. He is boasting because of his pain. I don't think I can quite say that confidently yet, but here is the beautiful part of it all. Scripture is full of accounts where people just pour out their heart to God. And the really cool part is God doesn't just listen, He cares and even welcomes people to do this. Countless Psalms are just David pouring his heart out to God and pleading with Him. What a beautiful thing!

So, don't feel like you have to keep all your emotions to yourself. If you don't have someone you trust yet, you can always go to God!

And with that, please enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAifRGI1Fxs

Making pens and making a difference!
Daniel Patrick

www.facebook.com/PatrickCustomPens
www.stellasvoice.org

Starting a Movement

As much as I would love to take credit for the following brilliant concept, I cannot. I have to admit, I stole it from a TED Talk by Derek Sivers. He argues that a good leader embraces his followers as equals so that it is about the movement, not any person. That right there is a leadership lesson. Anyway, I say that to say I really do appreciate those who support my endeavors and endeavor to raise support. This pen business is only going to succeed with your help and I will try and do my best to embrace you all as equals so that it is about the movement, not me.

Making pens and making a difference!
Daniel Patrick
www.facebook.com/PatrickCustomPens
www.stellasvoice.org

P.S. The link to the TED Talk by Derek Sivers is here, so enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74AxCqOTvg