numero fifty and God-with-us

Hooray! This is officially the 50th post on this blog!

I guess that really isn't that many considering that I've been writing for 3 years but I'm going to celebrate the occasion anyway. My original intention for this blog was to write about my travels studying abroad, which never happened. I guess in a way, I did eventually travel away from home so at least I have fulfilled that purpose somewhat.

On a completely unrelated note, I was going through the files on my laptop tonight, cleaning and organizing (yes, you can do that on a laptop), when I came across a reflection essay that I wrote for my Christian Doctrines class.

And I thought I would share it with you. It is a reflection of Matthias Grünewald's "The Crucifixion," part of his larger piece the Isenheim Alterpiece.

So, without further ado, here is my essay; enjoy!

A very human death of Yahweh: God-with-us

The Crucifixion, Matthias Grünewald

What difference does it make that Jesus died?

Instinctively, I know that it does make a difference that Jesus died…I just don’t know how to put into words what that difference is.  The painting is very graphic.

It isn’t like a lot of crucifixion paintings where Jesus looks more like a super-human who hasn’t been truly affected by his suffering.

No, Grünewald’s painting is very much in touch with Jesus’s human nature and what it means to suffer to the point of death.

Rather than portray God-with-us as a God who is all-powerful, Jesus is battered and grotesque and wasting away and beaten and weak at his end.

So, why does it matter that he died? First off, I think it matters because it shows that Jesus lived the entire human lifespan from birth to death.

He didn’t skip out on any aspect of it but instead lived it all.

I think what it is even more awe-inspiring in that knowledge is that he didn’t sin at all even when suffering and dying. I know for me, when I was on the brink of death I struggled to even be able to have the thought of mind to even think about sin.

My energy was spent on just surviving – the bare minimum necessary to make it through the day – so I didn’t have any extra energy to devote to loving God and others above myself.

And yet, Jesus did that. 


Another aspect that stands out to me is that if Jesus suffered and died, then there is no amount of suffering that I could go through that Jesus has not himself experienced. You could argue that his suffering was taken to completion in his death.

There is no more suffering after that point and he went there.

So, no matter how much suffering I go through, Jesus has taken it further than that because he took it to its completion.

When I was extremely sick, my body was shutting down: I was dying. Jesus knows what that is like because he was in that same place.


There is no aspect of the human life that he did not live fully.


He conquered death and that means that there is nothing that has not been conquered by him.

There is nothing that does not bow in submission to God – God reigns supreme over all including death and the depths of Hell.



My dear brothers and sisters, I pray that you will come to know Jesus, God-with-us, in ways that you never could have thought or imagined. I pray that you will rest in the knowledge that the God of the universe is with us in our lives - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

prepositions and connections

Prepositions. In my Italian class, we're working on prepositions, those silly little 2 or 3-letter words that connect verbs and nouns to form sentences. Now, for a native English speaker, prepositions aren't that difficult...in English. But in Italian, they are probably one of the most difficult parts of the language! Yet, without prepositions, all you have are conjugated verbs and nouns and subjects in a combination that makes no sense. I mean, think about it, if I stopped using prepositions in Italian, it would be like speaking gibberish. Take the following sentence.

Without prepositions:
I'm going Denver.

If I didn't know what I was trying to say, I would be confused. Am I saying that I'm going WITH Denver (Denver being the name of a person)? Or is it that I'm going FROM Denver (to another location)? Or even I'm going TO Denver?


I was thinking today in class that prepositions are kinda like parts of our relationship with God. Just as prepositions connect verbs, nouns and other parts of speech to form sentences, prayer, reading the Bible, and spending time with God connect us to God. Let's see if I can explain this better.

If I want a relationship with God but I don't ever spend time getting to know Him, through prayer and studying the Bible, then I would be like a group of verbs and nouns without prepositions. The relationship would be nonexistent. Just as prepositions connect verbs and nouns into sentences, spending time getting to know God connects us to God.

So what language are you speaking? Are you speaking with prepositions or without? Are you connected to God? My hope is that if you aren't connected, if you're like verbs and nouns grouped together; my hope is that you will want to become a whole and complete sentence, that you will want a relationship with God.

May you find the prepositions to connect you with the God who can transform you into a whole and beautiful sentence.

grad parties and what is needed

Have you ever been to a high school graduation party? If so, have you ever noticed how certain groups of people congregate together? You have your family group, your coworkers, your friends from that one class that you invited but really didn't think would show up, your band/sports/art/newspaper/specific activity friends, your friends that graduated before you that don't know many of your friends now, and your friend friends - the ones that you have the most memories with. Now the way most parties that I've gone to go is this: you get to the location where the party is, go in and try to find either the graduate or other people that you know, talk with the group that you know for a little while, and then leave and go to the next party, all while not really talking to people that you don't know. Why is it that most people don't go out of their comfort zone and talk with other people at these parties? Is it because meeting somebody new requires vulnerability? Is it because you have to put yourself out there for the other person to "judge?" Or is it because, in our culture, we have gotten really good at compartmentalizing our lives so much to that point that we put our friends into boxes or lists? That's how we keep our busy lives organized; its the way we are able to do so much more than we did 25 or 30 years ago.

I have several friends who are very organized. They have their planner with them at all times and have every task that needs to be done written down on a list. Now I'm not trying to bash on planning and making to-do lists, my life would be so much more crazy and hectic (in a not so good way) if I didn't use my calendar and to-do lists. The problem that I see with planners and lists is when our lives are so planned out and we are so boxed in that we don't know how to survive without it. It reminds me of Luke 10:38-42, when Jesus comes and visits two sisters, Martha and Mary. Now Martha, I see her as the biblical version of the modern "superwoman" or "supermom," the one who does amazing amounts of tasks each day. I would bet that a modern day Martha would be the one with multiple planners, several to-do lists, and basically lives on caffeine. Yet, Jesus tells her, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed." As much as I love being organized and being able to acomplish a lot in a little amount of time, I think this is a lesson that I need to remember. The only thing that is needed is to spend time with my number one, Jesus.

Jesus, help me to remember that you are the only thing that is needed and nothing else that I do matters if you are not.

swing dancing and relationships

I started swing dancing this year. I've always wanted to learn how, I just hadn't had the guts to go...well that is until now. The more I dance, the more I see similarities between swing dancing and our relationship with Jesus. Here are some of those similarities.

The first way is probably somewhat obvious, at least if you're familiar with dance. In dancing, there are two people - a leader and a follower. Just as I have to learn how to follow in dancing, I am learning how to follow in the dance of life. There are times that I try to take over and lead but my partner always gently reminds me that he is the leader. That reminds me so much of how Jesus will gently take the lead even when we have memory lapses and forget who is the leader. As a follower, I don't know exactly what step we are going to do next; I admit it, I can't read my partner's mind to figure out what step he's thinking of next. However, as I dance more with my partner, I start to recognize the little queues that he does to indicate which step we're doing next - the slight pressure on my back or the change in hand grip or even how his body is angled. Isn't that so much like our relationship with Jesus? When Jesus and I first started dancing in the dance of life, I didn't know know him; I knew about him, I had seen him dancing with others and knew that he was a good dancer but I didn't know him myself. As I continue to dance with him, I get to know his little queues at what is coming in the future. If you aren't already, I encourage you to dance with Him; it is a whirlwind dance full of unexpected turns and spins but it is so worth it! Just as dancing is exponentially better when I am dancing with a partner that knows how to lead, life can be so much better with Jesus leading. He is the ultimate dance partner.


Jesus, thank you for being the excellent dance partner that you are. Teach me how to follow better and become more in tune with your queues. I want us to be the dance couple that people look to as an example.

Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity.
                                                                ~ 1 Timothy 4:12, The Message

a to do list and life decisions

I was talking with one of my good friends this last weekend about how nice it would be to KNOW what God's plan for us was. Like a loud voice saying, "declare this as your major because this is where I want you" or "apply for that job because that's the one you're going to get because that is in my plan for you." And even though it would be nice in times of uncertainty like now when unemployment is so high and college is so expensive that you don't want to explore a lot of options, I don't think I would actually enjoy having God tell me straight up exactly where he wants me. It would become just another person telling you what to do.

Do you remember how when you were growing up and your mom or dad would tell you had to do something. "Clean up your toys." "Get dressed." "Its bedtime." "Use your words to tell me what you want/need." How many times did you grumble or complain or pout about doing it or just straight out not do it, I know I did plenty of times. What is it about somebody telling us what we need to do that makes us do the exact opposite, or at the very least do it with a bad attitude.

Life is not just a checklist or certain things that must be accomplished; its not just a long list of decisions that must be made; its not a puzzle with a discrete number of pieces. Life is a process; its a conglomerate of infinitely many little decisions. Its how we choose to make those decisions that shapes our lives. As a God follower, that means including God in all of the choices in my life, knowing that he's the one guiding my life, and choosing to listen to his authority.

Jesus, I choose to include you in every part of my life, I choose to put you in the drivers seat, I submit to your authority. Give the patience and perseverance to make the time to be still and listen to your authority.

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

                                                                ~ 1 Timothy 4:12

"Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can't do this on my own
I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
Save me from this road I'm on
Jesus take the wheel"
   ~ Jesus, Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood

spring break and changing the world

It is finally spring break!!! I can't believe it is already here. It seems like just yesterday that it was the beginning of January and spring semester was just starting. What did I even do this semester besides go to class and do homework? Did I even do anything that will be remembered beyond this semester? If you want to change the world, doesn't it start with what you are doing now? If you don't start now, then when are you going to start? Change doesn't just happen. It takes time, and effort. In a way, that is like our relationship with Christ. If we want to have that close relationship with Him, we have to be willing to put forth the effort and give him the time to create that closeness.

Jesus, I want to change the world for You. Help me to remember that change is starting right now and to not procrastinate about it. Jesus I don't want to put off building a closer relationship with you anymore.