HIM CONFERENCE - SO Inspiring; इ लव यू लोर्ड

HIM CONFERENCE - SO INSPIRING (i love you Lord)

[Haha, I still have no idea why my Title automatically goes into Hindi (I think). But I think it's cool, so I'm keeping it half in that language.]

Okay, so tonight is the first day of the Hawaiian Island Ministries Conference, and as always, it was amazing and inspiring (and I've only been to two sessions so far).

Just a disclaimer, I don't mean to come across as being preachy. I'm just reflecting on the messages of the night, and my notes that came directly from the speakers.

The theme this year is "Let Your Light Shine," which was taken from Matthew 5:16
"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven."
At this conference, there are people from the mainland, other countries, from the majority of the neighbor islands, and of course Oahu. There are approximately 4,000 people attending this conference. This is the 6th HIM Conference that I've been to, and the reason is simple. I enjoy it. It's informative, not just Christianese, and most, if not all, of the speakers are not only well-educated and brilliant speakers, but followers of Christ. They're real inspirations to me.

Keith Battle spoke at the General Session tonight, and his message was entitled, "Letting Your Light Shine in Tough Times." He's the founding pastor of Zion Church in Maryland, which now has 1,700 regular attenders [That's insane by the way...how do you meet people at all?] Their website looks pretty cool. You can watch the sermons online too. Anyway, sorry to sound like an advertisement, i was just looking in the HIM packet. If anyone wanted to watch his sermons online too, the website's at the bottom. But he really is an entertaining and thought-provoking speaker.

2 Timothy 2:3-7
3 Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. 5 And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. 6 And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. 7 Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.

The main point? Christians must expect and endure suffering.
Stay focused like a soldier, follow the rules like an athlete, and work hard like a farmer. Yes, a hard life indeed. But definitely worth it. What you put in equates what you get out of any situation. These guidelines for lifestyles sound restricting and repressive (as they are), but it's a lifestyle Jesus calls us to if we want to live like Him, learn more about Him, and be with Him. Of course we can have many interests, but our focus/purpose/priority must always be aimed towards God.

questions to remember:
Who or What's distracting me from my relationship with God?
What rules do I tend to break?
How do I know if I'm working hard? In what area am I being lazy?

This message spoke to me cause I can get lazy. easily. and my focus is easily swayed as well. Also, that verse has great analogies for how we have to be.

http://www.zionchurchonline.com/
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1st Seminar:
Is God Green? Jesus, the Church, and Caring for the Earth
by Dr. Kyle Van Houtan
This wonderful man got his Bachelor's in environmental science from the Univ. of Virginia, his master's in evolutionary biology from Stanford Univ., and his PhD in ecology from Duke University. Right now he's living in HI and leading the Marine Turtle Assessment Program with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administation)Island Fisheries Science Center. I like him because he researches and teaches on extinction (which is such a worthy subject in my opinion) and he mixes field ecology, quantitative modeling, ethics, and theology. Phew! Okay, obviously I'm reading/typing very closely to this HIM packet. But that's serious stuff. Anyway, his research has gone into various media like the New York Times, New Scientist, etc. And there's a book that he edited that just came out called "Diversity and Dominion: Dialogues in Ecology, Ethics, and Theology." Again, sorry to sound so advertisement-y, but I truly admire these speakers, and i seriously wrote four pages' worth of notes on Van Houtan's message alone. I'm nearly out of space.

Anyway, it's called "Is God Green?" and the answer is yes, of course.
He really called for churches to get more involved in environmental issues, esp. climate change. Many churches have been indifferent or seemed to have turned an ear to these issues. But they're real issues and, okay, even if they're not, we should still strive to live in a more sustainable fashion where we leave less of a footprint on the earth.
He mentioned the shrimp industry and how inefficient their practices are. 90% of the creatures they catch are not even shrimp! They're other species, and they get dumped in the ocean, dead, after having been caught accidentally and for the sake of a completely different species. Okay, so I know i can't just believe everything i hear in a seminar, but the point is, there are so many evils throughout the world. This seminar reignited my interest in environmental issues. I love nature. I love the movie Avatar and the appreciation those people had for their tree and the forest. I really want to do more research about the truths of many industries, for instance, food and beverage industry, hotel industry, all the corporate industries, the paper industry...i don't know. many.
Where do companies buy their food? how was the food grown/raised/processed/killed/shipped, etc.?
Where do companies dump their waste?
How are companies operating their systems? Are they wasting unnecessary electricity, water, resources? Could they possibly switch to solar-powered equipment? living in hawaii, companies especially should invest in better solutions for the environment, to both utilize our resources (like with solar energy) without abusing our beautiful land. Hotels especially! I hope that if/when i work/intern at one, that the company is striving to better their improvements (or perhaps that could be a project i work on).
How much paper do companies/churches/schools waste? Working at a library, i can tell you that people waste a lot of paper. Our computers are programmed to print a page if there is a hold on an item, or if someone pays a fine. it's automatic. and most people don't even care about that receipt. Going to church, anyone can see that those bulletins are such a waste of paper. Most people just throw it away, although there are some who keep it (haha, Peter). I think it's best that they are thrown away cause they just build up into clutter. A better solution is to encourage people to bring their Bibles and journals (like what we do with the youth), and have them write in the notes that they want. That way, it encourages them to journal, and it will remain connected with their other entries and thoughts. These loose leaflets can't connect to anything, unless later transcribed. That's just another waste of our energy.
Oh, and with school, all those papers add up into a heavy folder. I know, I know, it could help you with studying and learning and it could be a lot of my own writing, but...yeah, it gets heavy and it may or may not be kept in the end.

So how am I affected by this? How am I going to change?
Well, I hope to be more conscious of my choices. I've been bringing my food in this thermal tote to school everyday, so that's good. I should use less Ziploc bags, and instead use tupperware and bring reusable utensils. Also, even though I reuse plastic water bottles, I really should buy a long-term bottle.
I really do want to research these things. They're important. I'd also like to propose to various pastors to stop printing out bulletins every week, but just have a spot on the lanai with the announcements for things coming up. maybe some fliers.

Now, the hard part. My eating habits. I really have no idea where my food comes from originally. If it's good, I'll eat it. I know many fish are overfished and most are not that sustainable...and I'm really sad about that because I love fish. Especially raw fish. My favorite is Hamachi, and unfortunately I'm pretty sure that's one of those "Best to Avoid" types of fish. However, if i continue to eat non-sustainable items, they'll eventually go extinct because they can no longer sustain themselves. Then what? No HAMACHI?!? that sounds like an awful life.

Sigh..well it's pretty late, i should sleep and stew over these thoughts. This generation needs to change. We need to make a better impact on this world.
This is super long - sorry! It's been a mixture of journaling for my own sake, especially after being inspired, and just documenting what i've heard and got from these speakers (so i don't forget). If i just leave it in my HIM packet, I probably won't see it for a loooooong time.
Good night moon.