Hello friends below you should find our update letter for October 2010.
October 2010 Update
Posted 05 Oct 2010 — by nick
Category Family, Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Running, Scripture, Spirituality
Category Family, Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Running, Scripture, Spirituality
Chicago Marathon – Fast Approaching
Well folks, we are less than a week away from the Chicago Marathon. Amy and I have been training for nearly 18 weeks specifically for this race coming off the Illinois Marathon 1/2 marathon and Mattoon triathlon this summer.
I’m eager to beat on the streets of this great city after several years off of marathoning. This well run race has always been a favorite of mine.
This will be Amy’s first marathon, I hope you’ll join me in cheering her on and wishing her luck as she tackles this huge goal.
If you’re interested in following our progress in the race you can sign up for runner updates to your mobile device, follow the directions here.
Just Keep Running!
A Knowledge Barrier?
Posted 28 Sep 2010 — by nick
Category GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, News, Spirituality
Category GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, News, Spirituality
The Pew Forum on religion & public life posted the findings of a recent survey of religious knowledge. It has made quite the headlines today. You can read the executive summary and stats here.
Several headlines I’ve read point out that atheists and agnostics “know more about the Bible than Christians.” Which isn’t quite accurate reporting. The study showed that Mormons and Evangelicals know the most about Christianity, but overall atheists and agnostics know more about world religions than any other group surveyed.
The more I read through the study the less surprised I was. Evangelicals tended to know most about Christianity but little about other religions. Those with more education tended to score higher on the survey. Those that answered more of the general knowledge questions correctly tended to answer more of the religious questions correctly – showing a correlation of more education or knowledge emphasis in general.
All this has me thinking about if we have any responsibility as Christians to know more about other religions and informing or encouraging our students to know more. Or does knowing the truth leave us content?
Things I’m thinking about… I welcome your thoughts
“Questions, I’ve got some questions”
Posted 21 Sep 2010 — by nick
Category Fun, Jesus, Spirituality, Videos
Category Fun, Jesus, Spirituality, Videos
Awhile back I was introduced to this video and it still makes me laugh from time to time.
“Why didn’t baby Jesus zap him?”
“What would Jesus do if He was attacked by a polar bear?”
We laugh but I often wonder how many of my prayers and questions of God are right along these lines. So often my perspective is so small I can’t see past the polar bear question to see Jesus for who He is and what he’s done.
The past couple weeks have been polar bear weeks, this week my perspective is wider – hopefully for a little while at least.
September 2010 Update
Posted 09 Sep 2010 — by nick
Category Friends, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Photos, Spirituality
Category Friends, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Photos, Spirituality
Hello friends below you should find our update letter for September 2010.
Endurance
Endurance sports have been my thing for the past 5 years or more. Marathons, triathlons. Running, cycling, swimming – when I talk about working out it is always one of those 3. Amy has started to get into it to. In a few weeks we will be running the Chicago Marathon together, it’ll be her first marathon. 18 weeks of training, a 1/2 marathon in the spring preceded by 12 weeks of training – she’s well prepared.
These sports have such a magnetism for me. They require deep discipline and perseverance, a band of brothers to train with is often helpful. All these things are great, but it’s not that. Its how much they are an analogy for life. Its the job that you just can’t stand anymore, the unemployment you wish wasn’t. Or facing conflict with a loved one, apologizing when you’ve been hurt and hurt others.
So often in life we have to do the thing we don’t want to do – we wake in the morning and would rather sleep in, but we lace up our shoes and run anyways.
This analogy has come to life in a new way for me lately. Support Raising. Making calls, going on appointments, being away from home. All things I enjoy from time to time but often they are like the run I’m dreading. I know I’ll feel so much better when I get through it, but it’s so hard to get started some days.
And then there are the days when everything comes together and you feel great – you finish 20 miles at your race pace feeling strong and fresh. Days when you wake and are ready to get moving.
I generally pray for the latter but live in the former.
The Land Between
Posted 24 Aug 2010 — by nick
Category Family, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Scripture, Spirituality
Category Family, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Scripture, Spirituality
As I type today, I’m reminded that it’s just been 2 short weeks since I started my regular trips to the Chicago suburbs. Yet in just two weeks a rhythm has started, there is a flow of my week and time seems to pass quickly now. I miss being in Champaign, especially this week as classes get started at U of I and I-Life gets moving again. There are stories almost daily of new friendships being formed as our students, leaders and staff step into the dorms and initiate with other students.
Life-long friendships, mutual discipleship, Christ-centered relationships – all forming as the faithful pick up the phone or send a text message.
“Hey, this is Nick M. from Illini Life Christian Fellowship. Hoping to see you at the Fall Preview tonight @ Illini Union 8:00PM”
Faithfulness for me this year looks a little different. I’m not on campus meeting new students this fall – the first time in 9 years. For me faithfulness looks like dialing the phone for the 50th time this week, to see if I can connect with another person in an effort to share about my work as a campus missionary.
I miss campus, I miss my wife, I miss my friends and my own bed; but this is good. It’s The Land Between.
Just as Israel had the desert to cross between Egypt and the Promised land, so a missionary has support raising between the initial calling and released to assignment. It’s The Land Between where God chisels away at the rough edges, softens the hardened heart and strengthens His call. The Land Between is where God speaks softly and quietly, reminding of His goodness and provision.
In The Land Between I have the choice to embrace and trust a God who I know is good or run to quick fixes to numb the pain of rejection, boredom of idleness, and loneliness of isolation. If the story of Israel teaches me anything, I’ll take God over the quick fixes, they just leads to wandering for longer.
Facing Fears
Posted 10 Aug 2010 — by nick
Category Family, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, News, Spirituality
Category Family, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, News, Spirituality
Amy and I just celebrated our 1 year anniversary this past weekend. It was a time to look back and be reminded of the sweetness of our marriage and the good gift God has given me in a dear wife. Not to be all gushy and all – well actually yeah that’s what I had intended 😛
That set the stage for me leaving on the first support raising trip without her. Most of the next weeks and months will be this way. I’ll be in the Chicago suburbs raising support while she’s in Champaign working in the schools and seeing each other for a short weekend each week.
I can feel a sense of urgency to finish support raising as quick as possible, it is stronger, almost new. Certainly God provides in His time and I’ll be doing this until He tells me otherwise, but nonetheless my heart speeds and my pace quickens.
“Just drove away from Champaign without my wife, one of the hardest things I’ve had to do so far while raising support. 9:50 AM Aug 9th via Twitter”
The hard thing about leaving has less to do with separating from her – that’s tough for sure – it’s the not knowing for how long. How many weeks will we be following this routine, how many more times will I drive away from our house watching her eyes fight back tears as mine do the same?
As I prayed through all this, it became evident to me the urgency, the questions, the worrying were all rooted in the fear I was feeling. I haven’t had to be alone for the past year, I’ve had a companion. As I pull away for the week, I’m alone again: me, my thoughts and my work. Lucky for me I follow a God who meets us in that place of alone.
August 2010 Update
Posted 04 Aug 2010 — by nick
Category Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, News, Spirituality
Category Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, News, Spirituality
Hello friends below you should find our update letter for August 2010.
We Made It!
Posted 26 Jul 2010 — by nick
Category Family, Friends, GCM, Illini Life, Ministry
Category Family, Friends, GCM, Illini Life, Ministry
Thanks for all the prayers and help from all our dear friends and ministry partners. Just a few days ago we rolled into our driveway back in Champaign after being on the road for 1 month. God really provided over this past month, but we’re still hard at work in the support raising process.
The next couple weeks will have us in Champaign meeting with people in the area. We’re really asking God to continue to provide and give us rest as we go into the next season of support raising.
Amy’s job in the local schools starts back up in a few weeks and I’ll begin traveling back and forth between Champaign and the Chicago Suburbs weekly to continue raising support. The details of how that looks week to week are still being figured out, but it will definitely look in some way like us being apart the majority of the time. We’re hoping God provides our needed support quickly!
