::Pray for the World::

It has been WAY too long since I have blogged and I am hoping to change that over the next few weeks. My struggle has been not knowing what to say...do I write about recipes & cooking, talk about adventures around the Dore household, or expand on what God is doing in my life. Every time that I thought I knew what to write about...I procrastinated and changed my mind. Not any more.

God has been pressing on my heart regarding my prayer life. Honestly, prayer is a very weak area of my journey with God; and that is because I place so many other things as more important. I realize this about myself and have decided to take a few intentional steps and this blog is going to be one of them. How is that you ask...you shall see...

In case you missed it, the World Cup has started and this is the biggest sporting event in the world. People around the world from the U.S. to Spain to North Korea are tuning in to watch their teams play for their country. That's 32 countries passionately cheering on their teams...

What would it look like if they were praising the Creator? How different would the world look if they were worshipping Jesus Christ?

That's what this journey is about and I hope that you will join me on it. I will be praying for each country that is represented in the World Cup.

We are starting a day late so tomorrow with focus on the United States and South Africa.

I pray that you will join me on this adventure. It's gonna be fun.

::Theology and Students::

It blows my mind to think that I have been working with TCS (Trinity Chapel Students) for close to a year now.  I am in the midst of evaluating the past year and there will be a review blog posted in the future but suffice it to say that I have been amazed at what God has done in my life, in this ministry, and in the lives of the students.

Tonight's Life*Group caused me to really reflect on how far this aspect of our ministry has come from where we started.  It was only last semester that the students wanted to get rid of our small groups and just "hang out"... they have really grown.  We have been working through some key doctrine issues with them {Trinity, Sovereignty, Grace, Mercy} and tonight we discussed the Righteousness of God.  Their thoughts, observations from scripture, and questions blew me away...it is truly incredible to see the faithfulness of God at work.

There will be more to come over the next few weeks on lessons learned and mistakes made but I just want to say tonight that we worship a very big God.  We worship an incredibly righteous, holy, and gracious God and it blows my mind.  I constantly underestimate Him...and He constantly reminds me that I am missing it.  That's all for now.  See you out there.

B

...amazing grace

My favorite hymn of all time is Amazing Grace and I may have to admit that it could be my favorite song.  This wasn't the grace until recently, as I have been diving in and trying to understand what exactly grace entails. (see previous blog on grace)  And every time I do, I leave saying, "thats amazing".  That old song has been sung for a very long time and I think for most of us it has lost its meaning, but I pray that we slow down and hear the words.  I pray that we hear the passion in the words "Amazing Grace".  Thats my challenge to all of us...hear the words and fall in love with the free gift of grace.

Amazing Grace (How sweet the sound)
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ'd!

Thro' many dangers, toils and snare,
I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall profess, within the vail,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be for ever mine.

...a brand new adventure

Well...it has been a few days since I last posted anything.  But you are all in luck because this is a pretty important one today.  I have some big news....drumroll please...seriously, this is earth shattering news...

I am very excited to announce that I have accepted the position of Director of Student Ministries at my church, Trinity Chapel Bible Church.  This is an opportunity that I never expected but one that Julie and I both feel is where God is leading us.  The past year has been crazy as I began working at Trinity as the college intern, began seminary, graduated TCU, got engaged and this is just the next step.

It has been crazy to see God work in the midst of everything in the past few weeks.  The idea was first presented to me around Spring Break and I had a lot of questions but God grabbed a hold of me and really opened my eyes to what He was doing and where He was taking Julie and I.  I could not be more excited to get involved with the students at Trinity Chapel, to encourage the leaders who are working with the students, and just see God work in the lives of students.

Please pray for Julie and I as we make this transition, pray that God would prepare us and allow us to have an impact on these students.  Just pray that God's name would be known.  

I never would have seen this coming, but now I wouldn't have it any other way...isn't it crazy how God works?

BD

...a new game

I read an article once about a couple who were married for many years and they would go out into nature, on a walk, etc and they would play a game.  The game that they played has really stirred my affections for God and caused me to slow down and see Him at work all around me.

First, take a look at Romans 1:19-20, "They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.  For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature.  So they have no excuse for not knowing God".

...This is where the game begins.  This is where the conversation starts.  The game is seeing the nature of God and how He is working continuously in the world around us.  The husband in the article would see a falcon and then ask his wife how the falcon reflected God's nature and she would reply "God's freedom because the falcon can not be contained".

...or the wife would see a line of worker ants and her husband would comment on God's faithfulness because just as the ants faithfully seek out food and supplies, so does God faithfully seek out, provide for, and redeem his chosen people.

Julie and I find ourselves playing this game as we drive through the flat Texas plains and are amazed at a sunset, and we both see the beauty of God.  Or maybe we see a perfectly clear sky where stars go on for miles and stand amazed and the unchangingness of God.  I found myself walking around TCU and slowing down long enough to actually see God's creation.  I write this not to make myself sound holy.  I continually fail to give God the glory that he deserves and I have missed seeing his characteristics in nature more times than I would ever care to remember.

I write this instead to encourage all of us to slow down, take a breath, and see the world as what it is...God's beautiful creation.  Sure, there are a lot of things that are messed up...but thats our fault, its not the way that God intended for it to happen.  But if you slow down, you can see God's amazing fingerprints everywhere.  Can you see them?  Look closely...what do you see?

Well, thats all I have for now.  I implore you to slow down.  It is worth it.  Thats my take.

-BD

...whats in a word

Grace.  I was challenged in my 1st semester in seminary to consider the true nature of God's grace.  It seemed to be an innocent enough endeavor but what I discovered has rocked my world.  I can not get it out of my mind.  I find myself constantly tearing apart scripture, talking about it, and wanting to [attempt to...] understand it.  It keeps me up at night and yearning to know more about the free gift of grace.

I think that is what really rocked me.  Grace makes  God the center.  I can do nothing to earn it and I have done nothing to deserve it, it is a free gift.  If I am being honest, I hate that.  I hate that I can't be in control and make God love me.  The truth is that God is in control and out of his infinite love, He gives grace to those who have done nothing to deserve it.  It has nothing to do with our works; IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH GOD'S LOVE AND GOODNESS.

Check out Ephesians 2:1-10

Matt Carter, pastor at The Austin Stone, defined grace as the unmerited love of God. Unmerited...that just blows me away.  It blows me away that God loved us when we were still sinners.    It blows me away that when we were dead in our sins, God redeemed us through his grace.  It blows me away that God made us alive to Christ through his grace.  It blows me away that we have been called to salvation by grace.  And it blows me away that God could possibly love me...because I know my flaws, and issues.  He says come and know Christ because grace is enough.  Grace is a free gift that comes from the unmerited love of the Trinity.

I just never quite understood it.  I thought the whole point was to have God become part of my life.  But the real truth is that through grace, we have the opportunity to be a part of God's story of redemption in the world.  

Grace should change the way that we see the world.  Grace should stir our hearts so that we share the gift of grace to the world.  Grace should cause us to humbly worship the Father.  Grace allows us to be still, to rest, and realize that we don't have to carry the world on our shoulders.  Grace should stir our hearts.  Grace...

My all time favorite movie is Good Will Hunting (go see it...) and there is a scene in which Robin Williams character is counseling Matt Damon's character (Will) and is telling him that the crap in his life is not his fault.  He keeps telling him that its not his fault and Will eventually just breaks down weeping.  So here it is...it is our fault...it is our fault that the world is broken, and that things are not perfect BUT GOD GIVES GRACE!!!

Grace is a free gift that is given out of the abundant love of God.  That causes my mind to spin.  Do I live in a way to display that grace has changed me?  Do I show grace to the world? I don't know...but I want too. I pray that I do.  I pray that God allows me to see just a glimpse of the nature of grace.  I pray that I never underestimate grace.  I pray that grace is always prevalent in my life, my ministry, etc.  I pray that we are all transformed by grace.

...beginnings

I do not have enough time right now to adequately dive into what has been on my mind lately but I wanted to give a quick preview:

-Go check out Ephesians 2:1-10

Everyone has their "favorite verse" of the Bible, and if I am required to pick only one...this would be it.  I love the picture of the brokenness, sin, and wretchedness of man in light of God's amazing goodness.  I love the "but" is verse 4 because I think its the most beautiful word in scripture.  I love the fact that we are called God's workmanship (interestingly, the word workmanship is also the word for poetry in the original language...I think its cool).  I love the fact that we are saved by GRACE...

...there it is..its Grace.  Thats the thing that keeps me up at night, thats the thing that constantly races through my head like a llama escaping a lion, and thats the thing that keeps me thinking.  Grace.  What is it?  What is your view of grace?  Why is it so hard for me to get my head around it?

...I guess we will just have to explore that on another occasion.