I was reading Vince’s blog this morning, and thought I’d share part of it here, because it really articulates something that God’s been impressing on me lately.
God has something against darkness, don’t you think? In the opening verses of the Old Testament we see God immediately warring against the darkness. In the New Testament what happens? God sends Jesus. Why? Because (as we learn in John 1) Jesus is light, and He came to bring light to the darkness. He came to penetrate, dominate, and illuminate the darkness.
So, as those who believe in God and follow Jesus, what are we to do? Attack the darkness.
The problem is that too many Christians want to hang out in the light. Now that’s understandable, the light feels warm and safe and reassuring. We can see in the light. Things are clean in the light.
But God has called us to the darkness. Yes, He sent the light of Jesus into our lives, but once we’ve received that light, we’re to carry it into the darkness. Whether we like it or not. Is it scary, risky, dangerous? Well, yeah, of course. But where in the Bible do we get the idea that following Jesus is supposed to be safe?
…I don’t see Jesus making ministry decisions based on what was easiest. I see Him choosing to attack the darkness.
…doing something that may be impossible, and it may be scary, risky and dangerous, but that’s okay. Those aren’t factors Christians are to include in their equations. Our job is to attack the darkness.
A lot of times, I think we choose not to do what God is calling us to because it will get messy. If we really get close to that person who is hurting…it’s messy. If we reach out to those who are lost…it’s messy. When Jesus came to earth…it got messy.
God has called us to bring the light to the darkness…so let’s roll up our sleeves and get messy!!!
So, Jason has been talking about getting an iPhone for QUITE some time. Every now and again, he would casually bring it up in conversation…and my response was usually–no…we have Verizon, not AT&T. We are not going to AT&T.
See, we have been Verizon customers since the first time I EVER had a cell phone, what…12 years ago??? All of our family has Verizon, and thus…the IN minutes save us A LOT of money. So, convincing me to go to another carrier is no easy feat. Also, I get a corporate discount with Verizon, so that just makes sense!
To make a long story short, Purdue is now offering discounts with AT&T too, so Jason’s argument was gaining momentum. Then Verizon took it over the edge.
Back in December, I went into the Verizon store to inquire about the discount. Jason was the primary name on the account, so they had to put my name as primary in order to receive the discount. I was very specific with my questions and asked, “Is this going to change anything with our account or contract?”. I was told no…it would not change anything at all, just my name as primary…they just needed our ID’s, my Purdue ID and for me to sign on the line. To keep the story somewhat short…I was lied to (or the information was miscommunicated, if you ask Verizon). And what I actually SIGNED was assumption of liability, thus extending my contract for 12 months, and it would cost me $335 to get out of our Verizon contracts.
From a purely financial aspect, it seems silly to buy out these contracts…and that’s where I have been for a couple of weeks. But what I have been wrestling with is continuing to give this company more of my money. It almost seems that Verizon is saying, “sorry…your name is on the line, you’re stuck”. They don’t have to take responsibility for falsely representing anything. And they figure I will stay with them because it will cost me more to leave them. Well, I’ve decided that I no longer want to give money to a company that will not take responsibility for the actions of their employees, and has no regard for a customer of many, many years. Ultimately, it’s an integrity issue.
So, our iPhones have been ordered and are on their way! Bye, bye Verizon…hello AT&T!!! (And Mom…now you’ll have to call me after 9pm EST). 
Filed under: Family
Oh, my blog world…how I have neglected you so. Yes, I am still alive…and surprisingly, I’ve been up to a lot…I’ve just not been blogging on here a lot. I’m sorry.
So, here are my random thoughts about the past couple of weeks.
- Getting the stomach flu the night before leaving for a week of junior high church camp is not fun.
- Sitting in your house alone for 2.5 days with the stomach flu isn’t fun either. I actually watched Dr. Phil one day….crazy!
- Speaking at campfire the night I got to camp was rough…feel like I fumbled the ball on that one…and prayed that God used it somehow!
- Got pulled into a tough situation to do some crisis management–I am reminded how pain can be all consuming without Christ.
- I’m loving our Summer Life Group. I am watching my prayer for this group play out. The authenticity of these women is incredible…and the community that it created almost instantaneously is amazing!
- I’ve been spending some time developing an online “community” where we can continue the conversation of our weekly get togethers…another reason my personal blog has taken a hit.
- My kids are hilarious. I’m so glad I get to spend the summers with them!
And my last random thought…I’M AN AUNT! My brother and his wife were kind enough to have their baby while we were in IL (thanks guys!) and could run up and visit in the hospital! Corban Thomas is such a cutie!!! Here’s Corban and his proud daddy…WE LOVE YOU CORBAN!!!
Filed under: Family
We had a really fun week “camping” with the kids. We got to spend time with friends and family, as well as just spend some time together–just the four of us. We got home late afternoon yesterday–just in time to prepare for small group! When we got back to the house, the kids were looking at new pictures on Facebook from family and friends…here’s the latest from Peyton.
