Unending Crown of Glory

   I finished reading Donald Miller's book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years the other day.  So.Crazy.  Just one on the stack I've been waiting to read, and I happen to read it this week.  Miller starts describing this friend of his named Bob and this awesome parade Bob started.  I was like, "wait a minute... it's not..."  No it was.  Turns out one of the main characters in his memoir, the last person he thanks in this book is Bob Goff.  The same guy that invited us to the witch doctor conference in Uganda.  The world got very small.  BUT THEN, TODAY I checked out Jon Acuff's blog and who is he talking about?  The Goff!  Not only THAT, he has a link to a video of the very same parade mentioned in the book.  THEN  who happens to be the Grand Marshall of this year's parade?  Rodrick.  The boy I saw with Bob in Uganda.  (Click HERE to read my post on that day.)  The boy who had been found half dead on the side of the road, castrated, is in this video laughing and smiling. :)  It's so beautiful.  Check it out:

   I really recommend this book.  It talks about looking at your life as a written story, or script.  Would anyone want to read your story?  Are you a good character?  No?  Then do some editing!  A movie isn't a good movie without the character overcoming major obstacles.  It would be a TERRIBLE movie if everything was given to them.  The view on top of a mountain is so much better when you hiked there.  This book really helped my attitude this week.  Whatever people have told me about waitressing... it's that tough and more.  My gosh!  HOWEVER after reading this, I'm truly grateful that I can say I waitressed for awhile, that I WORKED.  I would have thought it was awesome if a guy got down on one knee last week and said, "hey Baby will you marry me and here's $30,000 for your student loans".  (Heck he could have just said he had dental.)  How much better a character I'll be when that guy meets me and I can say, "Yeah I worked my butt off for awhile waitressing and now I'm debt free".  "During this time I also learned to play the harmonica and started a bluegrass band with Kayla and Carrie :b ".  (But seriously. We're doing this.)  
   If Rodrick was some movie star's son who'd had the perfect life this video would mean nothing to us.  It would be nice, but we wouldn't tear up watching it.  We wouldn't feel anything.  Knowing what you know he went through... that crown on his head MEANS something.  I want to live a life that MEANS SOMETHING!  Francis Chan's got it exactly.  Watch this short clip:

I want to live so that when I'm done on this earth I can stand before The Judge with my hands held high!!!

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

-1 Peter 1:6-7     

And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unending crown of glory. 
-1 Peter 5:4