Feeling.

Well, after finished Jesus for President (amazing, read it!!) and A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (decent) --both of which took me about 6 months to finish, ha. I read at a snail's pace during school...I have now moved on to Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps. It's an interesting read, and although I still have 3 chapters left, I can safely say I have enjoyed it. Not necessarily a top fave, but has further opened my eyes in a lot of different ways from Jesus to technology and the world in general. Hipps is a smart dude!

One section I liked a whole lot was when Hipps talks about how the "print age" turned our world into one that thinks in linear, logical, black and white, factual ways. It is one that has pros and cons, but one of the biggest cons is that it demotes emotions. In applying this to faith, he talks about how this mindset turns people into only rational and cognitive beings, emotions don't count. He goes on to talk about how this is a major problem for several reasons: our heart and emotions are an integral part of our being and life with God, our emotions do help govern our behavior and when ignored can be very dangerous as it can resurrect in something negative, and lastly, it deadens desire. Our longing for life, love, and God fades.

Do you relate to this? I certainly do, and it saddens me to see the many people in the Church, specifically, the American church put almost alllll the emphasis on faith and never feeling. Feeling is looked at something that can come and go, so...it's irrelevant. But it's notirrelevant! It's actually kind of important, it's actually how we were created!

Have you ever felt God? There have been several vivid moments in my life where i have felt Him. So strongly and positively that i will never forget. these are by far the most cherished moments of my life, and i truly believe that God gave me my 5 senses for a reason other than just eating to stay alive. I believe he gave me emotions for things other than just crying when seeing a sad movie. I think He gave them to me to connect with me, too.

When I think of Hipps logic, and look back on my time in Swaziland--a place that would not be considering the "print age" type (that is, where literature and printed materials are a big part of culture)--emotions are a huge part of fellowship with God. Dancing, smiling, crying, laughing, clapping, etc. are not only encouraged, but cherished. When Swazi's worship, they do with their whole self, and it's gorgeous. And when describing their relationship with God, they use many more words of senses and feelings...not just large words like "justification" or "sanctification." (these words are fine, of course, I'm just making a point :))

So i guess what i'm saying is this: don't forget that we aren't just made to read, write, and regurgitate verses. We are made to enjoy our creator, to adore Him, to feel him...

Or as one quote by Allen Hood I recently read said,

"The heart can go a lifetime doing religious
services and exercises yet never gaze,
never adorn the object of worship.
We were made for encounter, for
experiencing the presence
and depths of God"

so take some time today to sit still, watch a sunrise, breathe, get uncomfortable to serve Him, love someone who doesn't love you back, or maybe love someone who the rest of the world has forgotten about...and whether you're adoring him or serving Him, don't be surprised when He shows up ;)