I don't want to be a snorkeler, I want to be a scubadiver!

I'm reading a book called Into the Depths of God by Calvin Miller. I actually have only read the Introduction, but that alone has inspired me to share some thoughts. Into the Depths of God, wow (if you didn't take time to ponder that phrase go back and read it again, slowly)! Putting true thought into that statement almost takes my breath away. In his book, Calvin Miller talked of his visit to the Great Barrier Reef. During his trip his son, who has years of experience and practice scuba diving, suited up and took the plunge into the darkness of the ocean water. Calvin on the other hand chose the more relaxing and safe view of the Reef -snorkeling. When returning home both could claim that they had visited the Great Barrier Reef but the truth is that the content of their experiences were completely different! The experience was amazing for both of them, the excitement and enthusiasm will be with them forever, but really only his son knows the Reef, only he understood the issue of depth. I believe that this concept is essential to true Christianity-the issue lies in going deep for deep reveals the reality of God. Yes, we can read about him and learn just as we can read and learn about the Great Barrier Reef. We can even choose to experience him a bit, like Calvin chose to experience the Great Barrier Reef, or we can take the plummet like the son and choose to be a scuba diver. It's time to stop being a group of snorkelers hypothesizing about the adventures of scuba divers. If conversations and study groups alone were enough to enter the body of Christ into the depths of God we'd be there! If that's not enough, how can we get there?
1 Corinthians 2:10 says

"But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God."

To me this is saying "if you want to be a Scuba diver and not a snorkeler you need The Spirit of God." It often feels like the Spirit of God is a touchy thing to talk about in Christian circles. I'm not entirely sure why this is, since the Bible calls God a Triune God. We seem to be pretty comfortable with God the Father and His son Jesus but palms sweat and hearts beat faster when the Spirit is mentioned. Sometimes I can almost feel the scepticism rise in the air. Then again, I suppose it's comparable to the thought of plunging underwater attempting to scuba dive for the first time. If you're not accustomed to it, it's bound to make you nervous and uncomfortable. We seem to have a fear of depth or maybe we're just indifferent because we don't know what we are missing. We're complacent and satisfied in the comfort of our snorkeling. Yet it's at that moment, when you're staring into the vast adventure below, that you must make a choice. Will you take the plunge- are you hungry for more? Will you overcome fear, unfamiliarity or even apathy in order to understand depth? When people ask me if I know God, I don't want to be a snorkeler -who says yes but knows there are scuba divers that know him so much more. If the deep things of God can only be revealed by His Spirit then my heart cries, COME!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YinijbeK7LY&feature=related

Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.

As I searched my brain for a title to name my blog I contemplated things such as "the thoughts inside my head" or the standard "my thoughts" along with several other similar ones. Then I started thinking more about the word "thought". Instantly the quote above came to mind. Isn't this so true? So much of what we say, what we do and who we are starts with the thoughts in our head. That being said, I have created this blog to share my thoughts in order to examine them. This blog is a challenge to myself as I share the thoughts of my day. What am I meditating on? The Bible says in Philippians 4:8

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

That's what I want my focus to be on! Today I read a great post by friend Justin Hackett that talked about the stresses of being a twenty something and wondering "what the heck am I supposed to do with my life?!" I totally agreed with his proposition.

"I think of all of us that are struggling with what's next, I propose we recognize and acknowledge the blessings God has bestowed on us in the present and ask how we can best serve in the here and now. Instead of focusing on ourselves, what if we were to focus on how to be more like Christ? I wonder how many of the things we worry about would no longer be issues if this was our main goal."

(Check out his blog at http://justin-hackett.blogspot.com/ )

A few weeks ago I shared these same thoughts with some friends in my cell group, asking them to keep me accountable for what my focus is on. My fiance, Chris, and I have had many discussions about this as we search for steady jobs while trying to plan a wedding and start our lives together. When we focus on our problem we are putting it as an idol before God and in a sense saying that it is too big for him to handle. I can say that I trust God but when I look at my thoughts (which lead to actions) I can see a clear representation of the extent I really do trust him. When I'm intentional about my thoughts, when I choose to praise him despite frustrations, I begin to see things from His view rather than my own. Overcoming the battle in our thought life isn't an easy thing. It is a daily struggle and I say struggle because I must continually fight. However, fighting in my own strength leads to failure...which could be a whole separate blog.

I'm excited about using this blog site as a way of picking at my own brain to challenge myself (and anyone who reads this)- what thoughts am I sowing?