What happens on earth, stays on earth.

Ever heard of the saying "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas"?  Well this is a play on that for all believers.

Matthew 6:19-21 says,

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

This is a very challenging passage for me.  Especially as I sit in front of a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, and my iPhone.  I am forced to ask myself, is my heart found in these things?

Being in a car accident in which my laptop, Amazon Kindle and desktop computer were destroyed and yet I walked away with just a scratch.  I was put in a very bad place.  I swear the EMTs and police thought that I was insane as I kept asking "what's going to happen with my stuff?"  "I need to get my stuff."  I think it forced the EMTs to put me on a board and carry me into the ambulance and to the hospital because I must have had a mental disorder.  As I sat in the hospital receiving stitches for my cut and calling my family and friends telling them the news, it was surreal to hear all of them thanking God that I was alive and alright.  All I could think about was my stuff, I worked so hard to get the stuff... 

Oh how much I have learned to put my treasures into heavenly things.  I did not even know what that meant until after God destroyed all of it.  My eyes were opened to the family I had, the friends that cared about me.  These are heavenly things.  The memories, the moments in your life that can never be materialized.  When someone says "you had to be there" when looking at pictures from a visit to the grand canyon. 

So after chewing on the slogan some more it should be more of a "what stuff you own on earth, stays on earth."  It isn't as catchy but it reveals more truth.  God never tells us that we will lose our memories upon going to heaven, so put down your iPhone or shut down your computer and go make a memory with someone you love today!

Real Reason for the Season

Today I have been thinking about the saying "Jesus is the reason for the season" in reference to Christmas.  And I feel like we believers focus on that in order to deter from the normal shopping frenzy and santa clause syndrome that so much of our culture resides. 

I would challenge believers to embrace the shopping frenzy in an attitude of giving.  Let's not focus piously on Jesus for piety's sake.  Let's embrace Jesus for His wonderful giving attribute.  I am not saying that we should give in to the temptation to buy tons of gifts for everyone we know.  I am not saying that we should not give gifts at all either.  I am merely pondering what God gave to us in Jesus Christ and the mission for us to pass that on. 

Do you give Christmas gifts in order to get some in return?  What is the point of that? 

I want to give the gift of time and fellowship, something that will be cherished forever.  My grandmother is slowly losing life and I want to give her nothing more than my presence (and a cute sweatshirt) to show how much I appreciate her.  Through this gift I am also passing on the gift that God has given us.  The gift that we celebrate every year around this time. 

I want to give to people who cannot give back to me.  This is true to the gift that God has given to us: there is no way for us to ever repay Him.

If Only...

If only I could work for Google.  This will definitely put "Work for Google" on my bucket list.  But then again, how will I ever pass their stringent programming tests?  Looks like I will be a life-long learner!

SlashGear: Google hands out custom Galaxy Nexus to workers http://goo.gl/mag/pjnBr

Happy browsing!

A New Day Has Dawn

A new day has dawn within me.  All the motivation that I have had for college has shifted to a motivation towards work and the unlimited potential of starting a small business.  Is it wrong to feel this way?  I certainly hope not as it seems the nation needs this kind of motivation if we are to climb out of this depression.  Higher education has become the new High School, a basic standard for attaining a job.  The nation has grown quite successful at brainwashing individuals into the very standard career ambitions and have sucked the innovation out of the common person. 

I am glad to say that I will be graduating in May with a Christian Worldview Major that will be used as basic life training towards my ambitions of starting my own technology business.  The purpose of this business will be to provide tech support and improvements to individuals and companies who do not want technology to prevent them from attaining the highest customer service. 

Once I graduate in May I will find work with a small technology business to earn income and pay off student loan debt while I study entrepreneurship and small business with a free program provided by one of the ivy league colleges. 

Until that new day has come, I pray for the best in the nation's future.