More to Life
What to do with the rest of my life....
by Matt Keller on 02/02/11
I've found myself dealing with this question with not only myself, but with many of the young people I work with. Although I feel honored that they would include me in that decision, I often feel inadequate to give them the right answer.
Why?
It's such a vague question. The rest of my life isn't a day set aside years into the future. The rest of my life, the rest of these young people's lives, the rest of your life starts today.
I've been reading a lot of great books lately on ordinary people who have led heroic lives. People like Bruce Olson (Bruchko), George Mueller, Loren Cunningham, Jim Stier and others. Their stories are inspiring but one can get caught up trying to live their story that has already happened instead of creating our own adventure.
Regarding that question, I believe my answer has changed over the years. As a young boy I of course wanted to be a fireman. When I took a test in high school that was supposed to tell me what I should spend the rest of my life doing it told me "teacher" or "rancher". Ya....Anyways....
Today is the beginning of the rest of your life. Ordinary men and women have challenged the civilized world by taking advantage of THIS day. Instead of waiting for some ridiculous high school test to come true they have changed the world one day at a time.
So my hope and prayer for these young people that I come in contact with each day, as well as for myself, is that we will take advantage of today. That today will be the day we love more. Today will be the day we say "I'm sorry". Today will be the day that we look at others through the eyes of Jesus.
I look forward to young people becoming radical, loving, history makers in this world instead of civilzed conformist of a self-centered society. Those days they will never be boring!
Community
by Matt Keller on 10/25/10
There's something about eating, sleeping, laughing and crying together, even if for only a short period of time, that stirs up a desire to live in community.
And that's what I'm feeling right now...
I just returned from our annual Arise, Kill & Eat trip with 23 others. We slept wherever we could find shelter and ate whatever we shot. The bathroom was a tree just outside of camp. The camp fire was our warmth and light and the center of our camp. We loved every minute of it (ok, except for waking up at 5am to a frost covered world....especially when my sleeping bag was soooo warm!).
I think deep down we all want to belong. We all want that deep connection with others. We want to share laughs and even though we don't look forward to struggles we want to go through them with someone. On Saturday we hiked in over a mile through bog, swamp and thickets of willow and popple. We carried in guns and ammo in search of ducks and geese. We sweated and bled. We felt the cold water rush through recently punctured holes in our waders. We also saw sights and heard sounds that we will never forget. This struggle was worth it and we will forever share it with each other.
Now that I'm home I realize how much I miss these boys and the community we lived in. I want my family to experience this. I want the church to experience this. It's hard to experience much community when we meet for an hour on Sundays. There is so much more that Jesus intended.
I hope through these adventure trips that the boys can learn about this community...and about love...and also about being there for each other.
This life is too short to not live. I feel so bad for those who are stuck in a mundane rut of complacency. A life without adventure...without community...without love...is a life wasted.
Love Jesus. Love people. LIVE!
More to Life
by Matt Keller on 09/28/10
The more I travel, the more I read, the more I listen...the more I realize how much more to life there is than what I know.
One statistic that refuses to leave my mind is this: 28,000 children will die today. Why? Is it ok that I spend $10 for lunch when that would provide over 52 meals for children around the world (based on www.fmsc.org)?
My eyes are opened daily to the young people in my community who need to know they are loved. So many are blinded and do not realize how incredibly unique and beautiful they are. So many just need someone to talk to.
May we all consider this today.
We are alive for a reason.
To love....and love demands action!
