Don't Waste Your Life

So, with the summer camp season at an end, I have been enjoying catching up on some much needed reading. After all, without any school this semester, I have quite a bit of extra time on my hands. For the past week, I have been working my way through my first book written by John Piper. I have always had a great interest in Piper, but have never taken the time to see what God is doing in his life. I can tell you this...If this was the only work I ever had from Piper, I would say that it carries a message for us all to take extremely serious. DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE!

I think Piper sums up much of his argument with his comments below...

"You may not be sure that you want your life to make a difference. Maybe you don't care very much whether you make a lasting difference for the sake of something great. You just want people to like you. If people would just like being around you, you'd be satisfied. Or if you could just have a good job with a good wife, or husband, and a couple of good kids and a nice car and long weekends and a few good friends, a fun retirement, and a quick and easy death, and no hell. If you could have all that (even without God) you would be satisfied. That is a tragedy in the making. A wasted life." (pg. 45)

Sadly, when I look at how I spend my life...my time, money, interests, thoughts, my dreams. I find that I am prone to spend it on much of the above. And the short of Piper's message in his book is that a pursuit of anything outside of bringing glory to God is a waste. It is a temporary satisfaction that is a distraction from who God has created us to be.

So my question for you and me is simply this.... What would it look like to live a life that wasn't a waste?

Me Too

So I was driving home from some contact work at Young Life tonight, and I ran into a friend. He's quite a bit older than me, but I have gotten to know him a little over the past year. You know how most conversations go when you haven't seen someone you know in awhile? Usually like, "Hey, how's it going?" Well, by the time I got got the first of those words out of my mouth, he was already shaking his head. Life wasn't good. Actually, life sucked... The next 30 minutes or so was just a roller coaster ride of ups and downs (with a lot more downs). It was so hard to listen to. Here is a man over twice my age that has hit rock bottom. He had everything he wanted, and then life caught up with him. Addictions from his past slowly took over, and one by one, the pieces of his life fell apart. So what do you say to something like that? What does a 23 year old kid say in times like these? I really felt like I wasn't supposed to say much at all, besides..."I'm here for you if need me" and "here's my number" and "is there anything I can do for you right now?" Well, there wasn't anything I could do at that moment, but I wonder if it helped at all for us to share that conversation. I wonder if he understood that I wasn't there listening with fingers pointed. In fact, when he talked about addiction and temptation, all I could think about were 2 words. Me Too. If there is anything to walk away with for me in that conversation it's that I have no advantage on him. You see, he believes in Jesus and does his best to follow, but he fails a lot too. And it would be real easy to say that I can't relate, but it wouldn't be true. I may not drink too much, buy drugs on the street, or find myself awake in jail, but the chance is always there. Flatirons Community Church in Colorado puts it like this.."we are all 5 minutes from screwing up our lives." This phrase means nobody perfect, nobody's beyond temptation, and nobody has any guarantees (at least on this earth). All it takes is one weak moment, one bad decision, one wrong step, and I'm right next to my friend. You see, as Christians I wish we'd hear a lot more "Me too's" and see a lot less fingers pointed. Because we are all in the same boat here on earth. We have a one-way ticket away from God, and if it wasn't for Jesus, then we couldn't get off that boat. Flatirons likes to say that the most common phrase we will hear in heaven is "me too." Why? Because when I stand beside someone on that day, I will turn to him and ask, "How did you get here." And the response is the same for everyone. "Well I screwed up my life and went my own way for awhile, but Jesus cut me a really good deal." And then he will look back at me with the same question in his eyes, and I will respond, "Me too."

So I'm praying for my friend tonight and am so thankful for the reminder that I haven't arrived anywhere. I'm just thankful that Jesus arrived in my place and gave me a free ride. Not one that gives me permission to do what I want, but freedom to walk as he walked.

Peace

2 Years

Well, I have officially left the "honeymoon period of marriage." My friend, Will Heck, told me congratulations and sorry that the romance has ended. Will is hilarious and a great friend. 2 days ago, Jess and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. And by celebrated, I really mean we congratulated each other at 10:30 pm when we climbed into bed and saw each other for the first time that day. It wasn't much of a party, but we have set a post-anniversary weekend for a few weeks down the road. God truly has done some amazing things in His story through Jess and I over the last few years. I can't imagine life without her! It would be boring.

On another note, life has just been busy lately. Jess is studying, nannying, Young Lifeing, Wild Lifeing (junior high), homeworking, teaching, and working on summer plans for UCYC. Wow, my wife is busy! Me on the other hand, loving life. I have had the most relaxing semester since I can't remember. I currently am taking my 1 final college course and will be graduating in early May. I am stoked! Let's just say it's a lot easierto enjoy ministry, work, and life in general without a full load of online courses to come home to every night.

Well, I'm looking forward to an amazing summer at UCYC in 2010. We just pre-registered over 4,700 kids for camp this morning! The goal is 5,000. It's going to be a wild ride! Stay tuned for more updates...

Peace!

Parties

Who doesn't love a good party? So there is this church in Lafayette, Colorado that loves to party. And here's what I mean by that. Last week, Flatirons Community Church threw a party at church. And they called it Shine. Now if you read that then you are probably thinking to yourself..."Churches don't know how to party. A church party is nothing more than kool aid, always save branded cookies, and Christian Dance Dance Revolution." I mean who wants to go to a church party?

I do! Flatirons didn't just throw any party. It was a night to remember. Limos, red carpet, paparazzi, bumpin' music, games, tuxes, dresses, and so much more. Now here's the really cool part...Guess who was invited? You see, Flatirons has this really cool idea that Christians should do what the Bible says. And they teach Jesus and the Bible week after week. And guess what else...Jesus partied. In fact, I think he was the life of the party! And you know what Jesus had to say about parties. He said for us not to just invite our friends, but to go out and invite the fathless, the hurting, the widow, the homeless, the left out, the poor, and the outcasts. Flatirons would call them people in the margins. So who was invited to the party at Flatirons?

Answer: People with Disabilities from all over the Denver area. Hundreds poured into the church last week with smiles that many of us, including me, haven't seen in a long time. Flatirons threw a party for the outcasts of our time, and it wasn't just any party, it was a crazy night. So I encourage you to check out the link below, watch the Shine video, and listen to the sermon series called In the Margin. It will work on your heart! It did for me!

http://www.flatironschurch.com/

Little Kids

So for the last few weekends, we have had 4th-6th graders at UCYC for winter camp. I love little kids! They are full of energy, life, excitement, curiosity, and just fun. Here are my top 5 kid camper moments from the past 2 weeks...

1. Watching a little boy drag a man-sized US Army bag (which he refused to let me touch) through the slush, mud, and snow all the way to his cabin and across the clean floor which quickly turned to a mud stained path.

2. Watching 230 kids standing on chairs singing Owl City and Miley!

3. Listening to a little girl explain to me why her dad is the smartest man in Phoenix. I guess that rules out my father-in-law, who was my vote. Shucks...

4. Super-Gluing Lindsey's (a 9 year old from Chandler) glasses back together, which were again snapped in half after a intense game of Dragon Dodge-Ball.

5. And reading the prayers of about 10 campers, from their quiet time books. Makes it all worth-while!

Little kids crack me up. I chose the picture of the girl on the bike because about a week ago, Jess and I were standing outside the Tweed's (my in-laws) house just enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon, when along rode 2 young girls on their bikes. The sisters stopped by our driveway and to say hey. Here's what I love. The big sister explains to us that she is riding her little sister's bike because she likes little bikes. Then the little sisters tells us how much she loves riding big bikes, so she sometimes rides her big sister's. This was funny, but then they took off and the little sister was having the hardest time keeping such a big bike upright. She was wobbling back and fourth like crazy and she just couldn't seem to keep her bike going 1 direction. This was the funniest thing to watch until she slowly began to head right into our Honda Accord. It was like she was destined to hit our car, which was parked along the sidewalk in the front of the house. It was like a magnet. She was fighting the wobbles, but just couldn't help. And before we could even get any words out...Crash!!! Right into the side of our car. And here's the funny part, she just get up, picks up her bike, looks at the car, turns around, wobbles back on the bike, and then peddles off. You gotta love kids. What do you do in a moment like that. My car is scratched and banged up and the little girl just keeps right on going. Now I'm not one to ruin a little girls day, but I just about did. Oh well, I guess I will fight against the innocence of a child another day!

A Good Reminder

http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/public_passion_vs_private_devotion/

Hey All!

I just read this article this morning, What a good reminder for leaders and followers of Christ. Check it out...

What do you think?

Jarred

Updates on the Medlins

Hey everyone!

I thought I would put together a list (my favorite) of what is new in the life of Jess and Jarred...Check it out.

1. My mom and dad are coming to visit us all the way from Springfield, MO in about 5 days! I can't wait. My dad is one of my best friends.
2. Jessica just finished her AEPA exam. AKA- Arizona State Math test for all math teachers. She felt really good about it. In my book, she's crazy, cause math is hard!
3. Just finished our 1st Middle School Winter Camp. It was amazing! Grace was the theme and it was awesome to watch God use it for youth groups around Arizona.
4. My friend Dan is in a rehab clinic in Prescott. For those of you who don't know his story, he fell 50 feet last summer onto a rock! And lived. He is getting professional help to deal with this situation and its effects. He is now in week 3 of what could be between a 3-7 month program.
5. Jess and I just got amazing Sprint updates, which means we are now official Droid owners. Can't believe I have a phone that connects to the internet, tunes my guitar, has a GPS, holds the entire bible (in 25 versions), is equipped with Load Runner (an amazing game from my childhood), and has access to television. This just complicated my life.
6. Our church, Prescott Christian, just raised over 6 thousand dollars in one weekend to send to Haiti. So thankful to be a part of a church that is taking care of the widows, orphans, and outcasts.
7. I now have one 3 hour course left to complete before graduation in May! No words can explain this kind of releif.
8. UCYC is in the midst of some exciting property possibilities....ask me later
9. My dad says he has lost about 30 pounds over the last few months! I am so proud of him. God gave me an amazing dad. I know everyone doesn't have that, so I am incredibly thankful.
10. I'm getting ready to begin writing cirriculum for summer 2010 at UCYC. Should be exciting. Check out updates on United Christian Youth Camp's facebook page.
11. Younglife officially kicked off in Prescott last Monday. It was a great start, and we look forward to what God has in store in the upcoming months.

Well, I think that's about it for now. I will add to the list in a week or so. Have a great day!

Jarred