I want to encourage you who are feeling a urge to do more. Those of you who are not satisfied with the life you are living and feel a passion and excitement to do more. I hope that would be most of you. Just know that when you start living it out it is a lot harder to keep the passion. But God is always faithful. Often though we begin loosing the passion for His will that we once had. But just know that God allows that to test if we have the commitment to Him and His will or if we are just acting on an emotion. Be careful that you do not loose that passion for doing more! Often people get that excitement but when they face the reality of God's plan for their life, they back down. The excitement you have is so good but it cannot be the reason you seek to do great things through God. They must be based on a solid commitment to the things of Christ and not just a feeling inside you. Because believe me, that feeling will not always be there when you follow God. But if you then press through the times when you want nothing other than to forget his will and live your own life your way, God will then use you for His greatness because you have showed that you care more for His will than for your own interests! And then you will begin to see what it means to die to yourself, when after following Gods will as it is written in the bible, you start to see His plan for your life, and then you realize that you want the opposite. But instead of falling away, you ignore the lust of the flesh and submit to Him. And this will be the hardest thing you do. Which is why almost all of North American "Christians" do not do it. God calls us to PERFECTION. That is not possible for us. And it is so much more than going to church and staying out of trouble. The only way it can be possible is if there is nothing left of us, and that is exactly what God wants for us. Read John 3:30 and Galatians 2:20. God is not selfish in any way! But He is so perfect and we are fallen. So the best thing for us is to become less like us. And as we do He is able to fill us with Him, which is far better for us! But that all goes back to being committed to His will when we want want to be doing any thing but it. Submission is never something you want to do or enjoy doing. That is made obvious by society. But we are not of this world. At least we should not be.

love you all.
-Ryan.

I stopped to think this afternoon while I was shoveling some bricks into the dumpster from demolition at the center. A good friend named Peter was with me. It was snowing. In that moment I had a bit of a revelation. I said to him, "We are living in New York City! And we get to work with the coolest kids in the world! Almost no one gets an opportunity like this." I became overwhelmed with thankfulness to God for this opportunity, and for every open door that has led to this. I am in awe that God would allow a person like me to take part in His great purpose in this way. The task that is in front of me and all of us is unimaginable. And God entrusted this small part to me. And for that I cannot be thankful enough. I told Peter that I probably have less physical things than I ever have but I have more to be thankful for than ever. The smallest of the things of God are so much greater than everything we can imagine to accumulate. But you already know that. Or do you, as you seek after and strive for that job to make that money to buy that car, to pay off that house, to get those clothes? Of course you know that to be a fact. But do you know it? So much so that you would give up everything today and then, with nothing left of your own, follow wholeheartedly after everything that is of Christ. Because wait, that is exactly what you as a "christian" are commanded to do. I do not pretend to have arrived, or even come close to this point. But as I seek to discover the things that are of Christ, I realize how far I am from it. But then I am greatly encouraged that I will never on this earth come close to the obedience of everything Christ requires of us. But as I instead strive to diminish my self and flesh until there is nothing left of my own, The Holy Spirit then comes in, and the things that are impossible for me to achieve, become possible only through what the Spirit does in me. Jesus was not joking when He spoke to that rich man. Remember, the man asked "What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" Jesus went on to answer, "If you want to be perfect..."

Sorry, it has been too long.
-Ryan.