Memorial Day is a day to say thank you to those who died in the service of our nation in the U.S. armed forces. My two grandpas, both pictured above, fought in World War Two. My grandpa Chuck (on the left) served in the Army Air Corps. and my grandpa Jim (on the right) was in the Army and served in the Pacific Theater. Neither of them died while fighting, but the sacrificed non-theless.
My grandpa Jim died ten years ago. When he died I was too young to realize all that he gave up to protect my freedoms and my grandpa Chuck died before I was born. I can’t go and tell them thank you for their sacrifice, which allows me to live freely in the United States. I am very grateful that I even got to meet my grandpa Jim. I know there are thousands of Americans who never got to meet their fathers, as they died while serving.
To all the men and women who died while serving my country, I thank you. I am blessed to live in the United States of America. I hope as we celebrate Memorial Day we remember who served us.
I’ve been doing yard work again. I don’t have much of a green thumb, more like a brown thumb. I tend to pull more weeds than plant bushes. Despite my lack of talent in the field of botany something really cool happened this last week.
To explain what happened I need to back up my story a little bit.
You’ve Got Mail! No, wait, it’s just junk.
For the last couple of years a nasty weed has been growing near the mailbox. Oh, you guys know what a mailbox is, you know the box at the end of your driveway that magically receives junk and the occasional birthday card from your grandma that always has the two dollar bill tucked inside.
Anyway, this “weed” never really looked like a weed. Last summer it bloomed a beautiful white flower, but it also took over wherever it grew. (It also made it hard to back out of our driveway) So I decided to transplant this “weed,” still thinking it was a normal plant, to a more advantageous location. But when I started to dig it up I realized the job wouldn’t be worth it. What I thought was one plant was five or six different weeds. This monster was growing crazy and choking out everything around it.
After talking to my dad, we decided to rip this weed out. We dug and dug, for about ten minutes, making no progress. Then my dad had a brilliant idea. ”Why don’t we rip the roots out with my truck,” he said. ”Heck yes!” I replied. Two hours later, after a lot of grunting and other man stuff, we’d pulled the monster out. The roots looked more like alien tentacles.
That’s the kind of weeding I like to do. Honestly I didn’t expect anything good to come from it. But then yesterday I went over to the mailbox for the first time in a couple weeks, really I only check my mail on my computer, and was shocked at what I saw. The bush, which had been growing resolutely between the monster weed, had always been deprived of its nutrients because of the weed. But now everything had changed. A perfect yellow rose had bloomed.
Because I took out the weed the rose bush is now blossoming amazingly!
It made me think about how God works in our lives. Sometimes he takes things away from us. Sometimes those things are bad like weeds. Sometimes those weeds even look good, but in fact they are choking out something that God wants to nurture in our lives.
So I have a question, what do you think God wants you to give up or get rid of so that you can experience an amazing blossom?
As we live spiritually we need to trust God. He has a plan for us, even if that means letting go of things we think we need. Let God help you produce roses, let him work in your life.
In honor of Mother’s Day I thought I’d tell you why my mom is better than your mom. Now I could easily name more than five reasons why she is the best, but I don’t want you to get all upset. I mean if I listed seven reasons why my mom is better than yours, you’d feel seven times worse about your mom.
I really can’t help it that my mom is the best. I mean she brought me into this world, toilet trained me, and even put her foot down and said no to me a couple of times. Mother knows best! But those are things every mom has done, or should do.
Here are the five reasons why my mom is better than your mom:
1. She Will Not Steal Even If It Is Free.
How many of you take those free sugar packets from Quicktrip or 7-11? Not my mom. One day, after my older sister, Katie, and my Grandma came back from the gas-station, they were talking about their free sugar packets. ”You take extra packets too, Grandma,” said my sister. ”All the time,” replied my Grandma. My mom, who was standing right next to the two thieves, cut in, ”That’s stealing. Taking one is okay, but to take more is wrong.” For the next thirty minutes she let my sister and her mother-in-law have it. So much so, that they swore off gas-station sugar packets.
My mom has morals. That’s why when I went to print out a picture for her Mother’s Day gift at Wal-Mart I made sure to pay for it. The machine printed out my picture and never charged me. I could have just walked right out of the store, but I knew my mom would never accept a stolen gift. So I found the nearest employee and asked to pay for the picture. My mom has taught me well.
2. My Mom Would Jump.
The crystal clear lake lay forty feet below. One, two, three . . . jump! This was Guatemala 2009, Lago Atitlan to be exact. We were all standing at the edge of the lake urging each other to jump. I jumped, made a big splash. My dad said no (Chicken). Emmy, my little sister, jumped on her first try (She’s awesome).
My mom is not a chicken, nor is she just awesome. She is a mom who jumped off of the highest cliff on Lago Atitlan. When my dad wouldn’t do it, my mom faced the big drop and showed her family how cool she is. My mom jumped off of a 40 foot cliff into the lake. As beautiful as Lago Atitlan is, with it’s stunning blue waters and the three volcanoes dominating the view, I will always remember that lake for my mom’s death defying jump.
3. My Mom Kicked Me Out Of The House
Okay, she didn’t litterally kick me out of the house. Five years ago, I was working at a job I hated. This lame job scheduled me to work on Mother’s Day. Three months later I found my self living in Guatemala. And my mom had everything to do with my move. No, it wasn’t because I wasn’t able to celebrate her on Mother’s Day. She told me to go to Guatemala because she saw my passion for missions and wanted me to have a chance to serve.
My mom is better than all the other mom’s out there because she has faith. She knew that she had to let me go so that God could work in my life. I would never have lived in Guatemala if it wasn’t for her.
4. My Mom Teaches Kindergarten
I know, I know. You are thinking that Kindergarten is easy. Those kids take naps. But in reality teaching Kindergarten is more like this video.
My mom pours her life into those kids, which means they are lucky. She is a fantastic teacher, who works super hard to make sure all of her students are socialized, and know their A, B, C’s, and know not to stab one another with scissors, and how to read, and how to deal with bullies, and how to do calculous, and how to write responses to their favorite Dr Seuss book, and when is the right time to go potty and where is the right place, and how to have fun all while staying in the lines. My mom doesn’t back down from any challenge. She teaches Kindergarten.
5. My Mom Would Impersonate You
My mom is immensely tallented at doing voices. Not a day paces by without her coming home from work with a story (remember she teaches Kindergarten) and those stories are always accompanied by a creative impression of her student. She always keeps her impressions tasteful and never stops surprising me with her versatility. She can pass as an old man, little girl, British nanny, and even my dad. Sadly I don’t have any video of my mom impersonating anyone, but she’ll do a voice for you if you ask her.
You might not be able to see my mom impersonating you, but that shouldn’t stop you from impersonating her. You should love kids like she loves kids. You should love your family like she loves her family. You should love and follow God they way she loves and follows God.
My mom is better than your’s because she showed me how to love and be loved.
Everyone knows learning the difference between bor., boar, boor, and bore can be a complete bo . . . wait which one is it? Wait can you explain the Hawley-Smoot Teriff Act? Anyone, anyone?
You know you’ve been in this class. We’ve all struggled to stay awake as the professor drooned on and on, our eyes taped open in a futile attempt to remain conscious. Sadly, once I started teaching I realized it’s not just the student’s who struggle through boring classes.
As a teacher, a teacher who was teaching said boring class, even I struggled at times to stay awake.
During my first year of teaching, quite a few of my classes were boring. Can’t believe I just admitted that. The worst was my current events class. (I know a couple of students who would argue, not to say it was an exciting class, filled with the days most exciting news, but to say one of my other classes was worse.) I didn’t even enjoy listening to my students report on whatever big news story they’d found while scouring the web five minutes before class.
You know why it was boring? It bored me and my students to tears because I didn’t put much effort into it.
I was a new teacher, I didn’t know any better.
Teaching Takes Trying
That next semester I decided to try something different. If teaching something I found boring made for a boring class, then why not teach something I enjoyed. (I know not everyone has this ability, Math teachers have to teach Math) I chose outdoor education. I had grand plans for this class. I wanted to take my students on hikes. I wanted them to love hiking, like I love hiking.
But how can that be taught?
First I bought a book. Had them sit in a classroom. Gave them the information from the book. And then I ran into the same problem I’d had before, boredom.
I was teaching the class wrong. Not that there isn’t a time and place for books and the classroom, but I found out that if I was going to pass on a love for the outdoors I had to take the kids outside.
I showed them how to set up a tent. We identified the clouds. We even talked about going camping. The class improved, but it still wasn’t that good. We still weren’t hiking. And camping was a no go.
Three years later the kids who were in that class still complain that we never did any of the things I promised them we’d do. But what they don’t know is, inside the classroom I couldn’t show them my love for hiking.
A Good Teacher Tackle’s His Students
Teaching doesn’t always happen at school or inside the classroom. Most of the time teaching doesn’t even require books or tests.
Hands down my favorite class to teach was my middle school gym class because I loved the subject matter and most of the time I got to participate. The boys loved it for many reasons, but they especially enjoyed our unit on American football (remember I was in Guatemala) they got to tackle me. I loved it because they loved it, and I got to tackle them. (This would never work in the states, but playing football with your students is a great way to get out your frustration.)
We built connections by playing a game together. Anytime they tackled me I would congratulate them and they would ask my why I was crying. (I wasn’t) Playing football with the boys allowed me to be personal with them.
They learned by watching my actions and following my lead. Now, none of those boys will make it to the NFL, but all of them know more about football than any of their Guatemalan Neighbors.
They learned through experiencing.
Teaching isn’t about how boring or how exciting a class is. No, it’s about growing and changing.
I finally put that to practice with hiking. I knew that if the boys loved playing football when I played with them, they would love hiking if I took them.
A Good Teacher Takes A Hike
During my last year in Guatemala I took the majority of my students on hikes up La Muela, my favorite hike in Xela.
On our hikes up the dead volcano I would ask them what they wanted to do with their lives. I would challenge them to try harder in their classes. I spent most of the time on the hikes listening to what was going on in their lives. I think they needed to know someone cared for them. Kids need someone in their lives that let’s them know that they’re important. Parents can do that, but at a point in every teenager’s life they stop listening to their parents.
I also shared bits of my life story, they listened and let me know they cared. While hiking built healthy relationships.
I miss hiking with them more than almost anything in Xela. I know that they love the hike too, because, since I moved back to the states, they’ve continued to hike.
And sure enough, when I was in Guatemala last March I took a group of kids up La Muela. They wanted to go. They took me to places on the dead volcano I’d never been. As we stood at the summit, looking down on Xela, one of the boys, who’d grown up in Xela, right next to La Muela, looked at me and said, “I love hiking. I can see why you love Xela too.” Pleased, I felt like a success.
My teaching methods might not be conventional, but I believe the best way to pass on information, especially the type I am passionate about, is to form relationships and go hiking.
Where is the land of enchantment? No, it’s not New Mexico. You have to south of the boarder. Okay, a little farther south. That’s right, Guatemala is the real land of enchantment. Okay, maybe not all of Guatemala is that enchanting. But no other country, outside of the good’ol U.S.A., has my heart like Guatemala.
Do you heart Antigua?
So why do I love Guatemala? What follows is my top five reasons I love Guatemala and think it is a great travel destination and even more so an amazing place to live.
1. All of the gigantic volcanoes, whether they are erupting or just challenging me to hike or photograph, I love them.
El Fuego sits behind the volcano of Acatenango. I enjoyed watching it spout smoke from my safe rooftop in Antigua.
Even on a clear day in Xela a cloud loves to hang around the massive Santa Maria.
2. The Colonial Cathedrals. I love old buildings and well, these ones have stood the test of time.
This Cathedral was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake.
Some lucky couple was getting married the night I took this picture.
Nun's who couldn't live in the real world would use the archway to pass over the street. Or so I was told.
3. The Amazing Coffee. Err, I mean how everyone loves Guatemalan Coffee. (Everyone but me)
Before it's picked, dried, and roasted, it's sweet.
I know coffee lovers love these.
Coffee being processed forCafé Tranquilidad
4. The craftsmanship, be it food or a hand-knit blanket, Guatemalans can make some beautiful goods. Cuidado! Be careful where you eat, ’cause you want to take the beautiful hand-made scarf home with you, not amoebas.
Found these at the store. I'd never had them before. Jury is still out.
I love those colors!
The Market in Antigua.
5. Most of all Guatemalan’s have passion, which makes me love them right back. If you travel to Guatemala you will find that the rich and the poor, both have huge hearts. Their genuine way of life makes them extremely beautiful.
The Chivos Fans Love Their team!
They Love Each Other.
Can't you tell she's got a big heart?
Will it stand?
Love's in her eyes.
They love being noobs!
Me and my spanish teacher.
I hope someday that everyone will be able to travel down to Guatemala and come up with their own list for why they love Guatemala. It is an adventure, but be careful you just might be enchanted!
Even though we are all masterpieces created by God, we’re broken. I don’t think anyone can claim that they have the perfect life or that they’ve lived perfectly. I think the majority of us would find that we have more in common with Aron Ralston than Jesus.
On retreat down in Reu, Guatemala, after I gave my message on being broken, several students came up to me and asked to talk. So we walked around under a grove a palm trees in the sweltering heat and talked. They, like me, had made mistakes in their past. They, like me, had felt stuck because of what they’d done and wished they could erase their mistakes.
Jesus doesn’t erase our mistakes. He won’t make your life perfect. And we shouldn’t want him too.
As my students told me what had gone wrong in their lives, I felt God nudging me to tell them about Aron Ralston. Now, if that name sounds familiar to you it’s because you just read my blog from my 27th birthday about being stuck in Guatemala and how God used that to get me to where he wanted me. Or you saw the movie 127 Hours. But then maybe, you read Aron Ralston’s book, 127 Hours: Between A Rock And A Hard Place.
Aron, an avid outdoorsman, found himself trapped by a freak climbing accident. He’d survived being trapped in an avalanche and stalked by a bear, but when a large boulder dislodged itself and pinned Aron’s arm to the side of Blue John Canyon in Utah, Aron’s life had to change. After nearly six days of being trapped, Aron cut his arm off to free himself.
If anyone has reason to wish he could go back and have a past mistake taken away, it’s Aron. He describes in the book how he had the opportunity to take another route through the canyon, which would have kept him in contact with people, but he chose to remain alone. His choice led to the loss of his arm. That is why I believe more of us relate to Aron than Jesus.
The Bible says that we all have messed up and fallen short of what it takes to make it into heaven. We’ve all gotten our arms stuck between a rock and the canyon wall, with no real hope of living life the way it was before we were trapped. I could tell, as I looked into my student’s eyes, that they felt this desire.
But then I shared with them the rest of Aron’s story.
After he’d cut his arm free and recovered in the hospital he wrote, “For all that has happened and the opportunities still developing in my life, I feel blessed. I was part of a miracle that has touched a great number of people in the world and I wouldn’t trade that for anything, not even to have my hand back. My accident in the rescue from Blue John Canyon were the most beautiful spiritual experiences of my life, knowing that, were I to travel back in time, I would still say, ‘see you later’ to Megan and Kristi and take off into the lower slot by myself,” (Ralston, pg 342). Because Aron cut his arm off so that he could live, he inspired other people to fight to live.
Aron understands that God uses our pasts to help others. He gave Aron a greater story, one not just about hiking and extreme sports, but about what it means to live and be connected to God’s greater story.
This is Redemption. Aron is still missing his arm, it hasn’t grown back and he still has the painful memory of the time inside the canyon.
Our mistakes may seem simple when we place them next to Aron’s. But that doesn’t mean they don’t matter to God. I was truly saddened as my students told me what had happened in their lives over the last year. But, if we let God, He will redeem or pasts, He wont make our lives perfect, but He will take what happened and use it to connect us to His greater purpose.
Redemption uses our imperfections.
Now, if you have been following my blog, you know that I have been talking about King David. After committing adultery and then murdering to try to cover up his mistake, he realized he needed to ask God to renew him and purify his heart. Because David opened his heart back up to God and asked Him to redeem his life, David’s story doesn’t end with his mistake. David’s story becomes part of God’s greater story, the story of Jesus.
If you look at Jesus’s family tree, its roots lead back to David and his mistake. God doesn’t sweep away our past, but he does use it, if we let him, to make something beautiful.
Jesus didn’t come to bring us peace or to make our lives perfect. He came and died on the cross to pay for our mistakes. And then he rose from the dead to mess up our lives. The truth of the matter, that Jesus is alive, forces us to live differently. It connects us to his story, and when we are part of his story our lives start to change. We start to have a greater purpose.
As I sat there talking with my students, my hope was that they would start to let Jesus redeem their mistakes. That they would realize the power for the resurrection, its ability to give them a new story. A story with imperfections, with pain, and with hard times, but one that is far more adventurous than anything they could’ve tried to live before.
As we finished retreat and I said goodbye to some of my favorite people in the entire world, I hoped that God would connect them to a their true adventure. Like in Hugo, where at the end of the movie, each character finds their purpose because they have let their past be redeemed and have been connected to something greater than themselves. I know once we all start living in the reality of the resurrection our lives will truly become an adventure.
There is a village tucked away in the mountains of Guatemala named Yulmacap. The Guatemalan’s in Yulmacap do not speak spanish. They speak a Mayan dialect, Q’anjobal. They all wear traditional Mayan garb and are so secluded that hardly anyone ever leaves the village. It is beautiful, so I completely understand why no one leaves. The mountains shoot straight up and the deep blues of the sky splash against them like a water painting.
I wanted to reblog this story onto my blog at Adventures in Guatemala because it tells a true adventure in Guatemala. One of faith and unique experiences. Also, I wanted to share my little sister's powerful story.
The journey to the top of Calvary must have been difficult. Jesus was exhausted as he carried the weapon of his demise all the way up Calvary. He’d been beaten. He’d been mocked. Yet he endured the pain of that brutal cross.
For me. For you. For the sins of the world.
Since the first good Friday, the cross has become more than a tool for execution. For me it is a reminder of forgiveness, how much I’m loved, and the tool used to redeem my brokenness. To others the cross is just art, something to look at. But as you can see from the pictures I took during my recent trip to Guatemala, even when the cross is represented artistically, it can still mean something.
Today, Good Friday, the day we celebrate Christ’s death on the cross, what does that cross mean to you?
God made me into a masterpiece. And yet, like the broken volcanic rock I’m standing on in this picture, I’m a broken masterpiece.
I’m a broken masterpiece who’s enamored with a kids movie. When Hugo came out before Christmas I was blown away by its beauty, but as I’ve watched it again and again, I’ve seen the true elements of God’s grace and redemption weave their way through the story.
In the movie, Hugo Cabret, the main character, loves fixing things. As the story progresses he realizes that everyone around him is broken. Just as Hugo realized that the people around him were inventions who needed fixed, I realized that fact is true to life. We are all creations who have been broken.
I’ve been writing a lot about my recent mission trip to Guatemala. During the first part of March 2012 I led a small team down to Xela (Quetzaltenango), Guatemala to help out with a vacation Bible school program and a high school and middle school retreat.
Now, if you have been following my blog you know that the week was quite an adventure. You also know that you are God’s masterpiece. You know that God created you for a reason.
But what happens when you mess up. When you feel broken. Does God just toss us away? Can we mess up so bad that even God wont take us back?
During the retreat, once we’d made it down to hotter than hell Reu, Guatemala, I asked my students if they knew what the word redemption meant. We were packed into a small dining hall for games, worship, and a message. Going along with the theme of creation I asked three boys to create something with Hot Tamales. First they had to chew them up and then build something artistic.
The game failed. I’m pretty sure all of the students were bored during the game, which wasn’t how I pictured it. I’m glad it was just a game. But then, somehow the games failure fit into my talk. How often do our lives not go as planned. If we are inventions we sure tend to break down a lot, and sometimes it’s our own fault.
In my last blog I talked about how God chose a little shepherd to be king of Israel. David was the smallest in his family, but he had something God desired. An open heart. But let me tell you the rest of David’s story. If he was a man after God’s own heart, he was also horribly broken. Once David becomes king he stops following God’s plan for him.
If I think I’ve messed up, well at least I haven’t skipped out on God’s job for me so that I could commit adultery. David did that. But wait, there’s more. David finds out he knocked up the woman he slept with, and wait, she’s married. So, after he tries to pin the baby on her husband, which fails miserably, (as is what happens most of the time when we try to hide our mistakes) David has the man killed. So, David has gone from a man after God’s own heart, to an adulterer, to a murderer. I am sure when he woke up the morning before all this happened, he didn’t write on his to do list, sleep with a married woman and then kill her husband.
No. We never plan on making mistakes. As I shared this story of David with my students, I wanted them to realize that even great biblical figures mess up. If someone in the Bible screws up royally, then what does that mean for us normal folk?
And so I opened my Bible and shared with them how David responded to God. Yes, at first David hid from God, tried to cover up all his wrong doing, but then he does something us normal folk should do. He admits his wrongs and asks God to redeem him. In Psalm 51 verse 1-12 David writes:
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
The Cost of Redemption
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
David was a broken invention. God set him on a path to be king of Israel and David messes things up. We are God’s masterpieces, but if you are like me you have messed up. The first step to redemption is admitting to God how you messed up.
I have found that when I am open with my faults God tends to redeem them. Redemption doesn’t mean erasing all that we did wrong, but fixing what is broken. Like David said, create in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me. He didn’t say take this all away as if it never happened, he asked for God to fix him.
That is exactly what God did on Easter through Jesus. He sent Jesus to fix us. But that can only happen if we admit that we’re broken and need someone to repair us. If we do, our story will be as meaningful as Hugo’s, probably even more so. Because when we are living out God’s plan for us our stories turn into grand adventures.
As I finished giving my message I prayed that each of the students would keep their heart open to God and know that, no matter what they’d done or will do, they could never separate themselves from God.
I hope you know that too. That this Easter is a time to celebrate redemption. I urge you to join me, and my dad, Eugene Scott, in Living Spiritually. We have set this year and hopefully our lives to keeping our eyes and our hearts open to God. It has been an adventure so far and it would be amazing if you joined us.
Have you ever thought of God as an inventor? Just think, he created Xela, this beautiful city. But have you ever thought that you are an invention, created for a purpose?
If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I took a team down to Guatemala to lead The Inter-American School’s Spiritual Emphasis Week. Our theme for the week was The Inventors Workshop, an idea I got from the movie Hugo. I asked them to look at their lives as if they were invented with a purpose.
During the all school chapel on Tuesday morning I asked the students help me make the greatest invention ever. We decided we needed some volunteers, so I called up the smartest kid in school, Skyy. Then I called up the tallest, Oscar. Followed by the strongest, How. And then for good measure I picked a random boy out from the crowd, little Quike (pronounced key kay) from second grade.
Surprisingly enough, Oscar was too tall, How was too strong, and Skyy was too smart. Quike was just perfect for my experiment. If you don’t understand why I went with the smallest boy, maybe you should read a story from the Old Testament where David, a young Shepard at the time, is chosen by God to be the future king of Israel. He isn’t big and strong like his brothers, but he has something God desires.
And so Quike let me use him to create the perfect invention. First, we decided, he had to be wearing a hat, cause hats are cool, so I grabbed a hat from the audience and placed it on his head. Then, what boy would be complete without sunglasses? But I wanted him to be even cooler so I broke out my ski goggles and plopped them on his head. My perfect invention was almost complete. What kid is complete without an iPod and headphones? I shoved my headphones on his little head and turned up the music. He was complete.
Only one problem. He couldn’t hear his inventor. I tried several times to make him walk across the stage, but alas, the music was too loud.
So what did David have that God desired? An open heart. We cannot respond to our inventor if our hearts are closed. Like Quike, who couldn’t hear me because of the music, we often drown out God with noise. How often do we have our iPods on and miss out on what God has for us?
So, I challenged my students to open their hearts to what God had for them that week. I asked them to unplug from anything that could distract them from God. ’Cause if their hearts were to remain closed, they would never know their purpose.
And what kind of leader would I be if I challenged them and didn’t give them an example of what an open heart looks like.
When I first started teaching at IAS, almost four years ago now, I was nervous. If you go back and read some of my first blog posts you’ll see I was lonely, and not a good writer. I was not alone. Because I kept my heart open to all God had for me in Guatemala, he provided me with friends and amazing experiences. Over the three years the students at IAS invited me into their lives and by doing so we created memories and built relationships. If I’d had my heart closed off to them God wouldn’t have been refine me, his invention.
I believe God has created us as his masterpiece. We are his most complex invention. I challenged them to look at a series of photographs with an open heart. You might not know anyone from the following slide show, but I want you, my readers to keep your hearts open as well.
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Here is what I see when I look at these pictures. I see a kid I tutored, the same kid I convinced that the Rockies were the best team in Baseball. I see a class that showed me how much fun teaching can be, they also showed me how frustrating it can be as well. I see kids that love to play zombie tag. I see friends who God has a special plan for. When I look through this slide show I see God’s masterpieces.
If you were to add your own picture to that slide show, I hope you would see that you are God’s masterpiece, his greatest invention, and that he has a purpose for you. You are not, as Hugo says, “spare parts.”
Join me and my dad, Eugene Scott, in living spiritually. We are 88 days into the new year and I have already seen God do so much. Join us on this adventure!
