Life a Weblog for Young Adults

Operation Christmas Child is a year-round effort to take shoe box gifts and the message of the gospel to 8 million children all around the world. On April 27, 2009, 65,000 of the shoe boxes you gave were loaded on a Boeing 747 cargo plane in Charlotte, North Carolina, traveling to China for children whose lives were devastated by last year’s earthquake.

Are you dreaming of the day when you will finally hold in your hand the keys to your very own home? Homeownership is a huge, sometimes scary, step in life. The list of details to consider is endless: What’s a fair price? Can you trust the inspection? Will the area feel like home? Threads staffers have come up with a list of 12 things you absolutely must consider before you drop such a huge chunk of change on a home that you very well could be paying on for the next thirty years.

The last place you would expect to see a clear picture of salvation is in a criminal courtroom. You hear the clinking of shackles and handcuffs as prisoners shuffle in and out. You hear sobs and pleas of those who have broken the law. You sit by the families of victims and you sense their anguish and desire for justice. The room is filled with a sense of hopelessness. Yet, while standing in support of a friend earlier this week, I saw one of the clearest pictures God has ever shown me of our salvation in Jesus Christ.

Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit: An Geadh-Glas, or “the Wild Goose.” The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger and an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I can’t think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Holy Spirit through life. The truth is: Most of us have no idea where we’re going most of the time. I know that’s unsettling, but circumstantial uncertainty goes by another name—adventure.

I sat down on my bed the other day to have my “quiet time” with God. Truthfully, it had been more than a week since I had really given Him any of my attention whatsoever, and I felt like it was time I connect with Him on some level. So, Bible in hand, I closed my eyes and started to pray. “Dear God, I come to You now …” Suddenly, I felt a little red flag go up in my heart, and I figured I must have said something wrong, so I started over. “Dear Lord, I pray that You would come to me now …” Again, another flag. What in the world …?, I thought, racking my brain to figure out why I couldn’t just get this process over with.

But wait—Easter is about us, right? It’s about our hope? It’s about our security? It’s about our salvation?

Yes, and no.

Grab a chair and watch as Threads’ own Jason Hayes sits down with Dave Barnes, a singer-songwriter who is committed to authenticity in his music and in his life. This interview is the first in a series Jason will be conducting with various people, so be sure to check back for more.

Have you ever felt slightly beat up after reading something in God’s Word? Sometimes when I feel like I’ve been an A+ Christian, I read something that exposes the ungodly things in me that I’ve shoved way down out of sight. And it hurts. It hurts my pride knowing that I’m still struggling.