In memory of those we love

In loving memory of Bob and Randy Sims.


For those of you who know me, know that I am in Mississippi right now on a missions trip. We found out yesterday night that Bob and Randy Sims died in a car accident on the way down. Both men were very near and dear to me as well as the rest of my church family.
Through tragic occurrences such as this, we often are lost as to what God would have us do, and in all honesty all we can really do is pray and continue on with our lives. I'm not saying that we forget about it and brush it off. This isn't something that you can do that with. You cant just brush it off and move on. Death doesn't work like that. The fact that they are not in this world with us is a shock. It causes a lot of sadness and rightfully so. They are beloved people who are no longer here with us.
HOWEVER! God gives us hope and comfort in the fact that we will one day see them again. They are with God now, worshiping him and have no more pain, no more fear. Mr Bob's cancer is now cured for good. He will no longer have to live with that over his head anymore.
While we are here, mourning, and asking God WHY!? God's plan doesn't always make sense to us. Sometimes we look at God and wonder why he does the things he does. We don't really know. However we can take comfort in the fact that God DOES have a plan. That his plan is perfect. Even though we lose people we love, people we care about, people who we thought would live for many many more years to come. Do we know why God took them home? No we don't. In these situations, it's hard to keep our eyes on God. It's hard to be able to see how God can use this for good. Death is the last enemy we face. The last thing we face before we can live with our God. Just because someone has died, it doesn't mean that they are gone forever. We can see them again one day with our Lord and Savior.
In the time we do have here on earth, we should make the most of it. We should do everything we can to serve God and others. Make sure that people know you love them. Don't just tell them that you love them, actually do it, show your love in how you treat them because you never know when you our they might be called home by God.
Life is such a fragile thing, we are like dust that the wind blows away, here one moment, gone the next. So we need to make the most of the time that God gives us for we never know then God will call us home.
God has a plan. It may not make sense to us, but we need to make the most of life. Honor God and bring him glory.
In light of all this, don't be afraid to grieve. It is a part of life. It is ok to be sad or upset or angry. It's hard to understand God's plan. Just as long as we are honest with ourselves and with God. If you grieve differently than someone else, that's ok. Some cry, some go off in silence, others try to do something else to shove it away. Pushing things away, doesn't help. Take it from someone who has done a lot of that in his life. Once you shove enough things away to try to forget, they add up and it will come back to haunt you. I have scars because of that. I almost killed myself because of this. Trust me, DO NOT try to shove things down. It is ok to grieve. It is the way God made us.
We should honor the memory of Mr Bob and Randy by serving those around us, and making the most of the time that God has given us. Do not forget them, for we will see them again someday. Some of us sooner than others, but one day we will all be together with God with no more fear, pain or suffering. We can take comfort in that and it gives us something to look towards that gives us hope for the future.

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
-Psalms 30:5

What Do You Do When You Get Mad At Someone?

What do you do when you get mad at someone? Usually something they did or said ticked you off and you got upset and angry. Kind of a typical occurrence right? If not, I envy you because I get mad at someone almost every day even if its over the dumbest thing in the world like what direction the toilet paper went on the stand or something extremely dumb and inconsequential like that. Anyway, when you get mad at someone, how do you respond to the situation? Do you start fuming and go to that person and tell them exactly how you feel about what they did or said? Or do you sit there and bottle it up, say nothing and then explode on another day when things are so far built up? First off, its best if you are able to brush it off and move on, especially with the really stupid mundane things. Sometimes however, whatever the person did or said that got you so mad is not something you can just brush off. Sometimes these things could be something like a friend acting like a total jerk or a parent complaining that you are unreliable or don't listen or something. When you have these things happen, the first thing you should do is examine yourself. What are you doing wrong in the situation to cause the person to do or say such a thing? Next think about what God would want you to do instead. Once you have examined yourself that is when you figure out how to respond. Do you respond in anger and tell the person off? Or do you respond in love and humility and apologize for what you have done to cause them to do/say what they did. That is the best option right there. I know, much easier said than done and sometimes you end up responding in anger and make things worse. When this happens, the first thing you should do is pray. Asking God what you should do next is always a good idea especially in these situations. Paul in the bible tells us to never let the sun go down on your anger. I personally agree and think this is GREAT advice because you never know what may happen that night or the next day. That person you are angry with chances are is angry at you too. When this happens that anger can fester for both them and you. So it is best to be able to get it off your chest so that you can work on repairing the relationship. So I HIGHLY encourage you to get things worked out before the day is over.
Basically the gist of this is saying that it is best to respond in love and humility when angry at someone and things will go MUCH better. Once again, I know it is easier said than done. I have a difficult time with this myself. I find it hard to push my pride away and accept that I am probably part of the issue and apologize. My wise Sa Beom Nim (Martial arts instructor) told us just the other day that it when you remind other people of something, you are reminding yourself the same thing and this is exactly whats happening right now because I have just as many issues with this as anyone else if not more.
I hope that you can learn something from this and that I was able to help you in some way.

Chipper signing off.

P.S. Sorry I haven't posted anything in for EVER. Been super busy and to be honest the blog has been the last thing on my mind.

P.P.S This post is inspired by a friend of mine (Who's name will be kept private) who is struggling with some relationship issues with their parents. I'm sure you know who you are and I am praying for you.