Soli Deo Gloria

...meaning "for His glory alone" i knew my Latin would come in handy :) There could not be a more appropriate banner to hang in the Focus on the Family Institute classroom. This has been the grand struggle of my life, frankly....as so many have accorded me the vain praise of men and glory of worldly accomplishment. This has thus far been the most glory to God i have been, in my estimation, as I have been most fully alive in Him and pursuing His truth voraciously, vehemently, and with vivid imagination.

The purposes for me being here were reinforced and more intensely articulated during the first weekend, which was mainly orientation activities. We did team-building activities outdoors, listened to a few introductory informal lectures from staff, and began to become acquainted with each other. It seemed to me that God was telling me that an extremely large part of bringing me here was to teach me to trust people again....new people--'strangers.' That is not to say all strangers can be trusted of course. However, there is a degree of safety and security, spiritually speaking, here that I have not sensed before....even at Summit.

This makes sense, as God has grown the ministry from a 2-room office in 1977 with a scant few part-time employees to an international conglomerate boasting over 1300 employees and a budget reaching into the hundreds of millions each year. My initial reaction was....thank you, God, for being so patient with me and giving me an opportunity to learn your ways again in this arena of my life. The other purpose explicitly revealed was that I have always either been put in the place, or taken the place myself, of attempting to 'do everything' in relation to whomever i am working with, matriculating in school with, or doing church and/or life with.

That is simply impossible here! Which is euphoric, enthusiastically energizing, and puts me quite efficiently at ease. All attendees are leaders, especially spiritually. So God is, and has been, teaching me what my place in the Body is....on His terms, as He wants it. For far too long, i have been realizing, i have adapted or been a 'chameleon' in relation to what was needed in a group dynamic.

How does that look? Like August Rush, frankly. [for those who haven't seen it, a young boy is blessed with hearing music in the world around him and it streams out of him onto the parchment as he composes beautiful music of his own] The thoughts and words have been streaming into and out of my brain like a torrential monsoon....and during class it has felt like hydrogen bombs going off with connections from the curriculum to Scripture, books presently and previously read, life stories/experiences, and the conglomerate of useless facts and random axiomatic anecdotes that so plentifully populate my cranium!

There is of course a double meaning, if you will, in this blog's title...as multitudes of interested observers have been beseeching me concerning my future plans, beginning in August. Whatever the case, i will be August at Focus for the next few months, and come August...at Focus? or August at focus in another place and endeavor.....i am praying earnestly concerning this though God has been and is continuing to show me His plans for my life.

Whatever or wherever i am in life, God wishes my intellect, articulation, and interpersonal skills to be used Soli Deo Gloria!

And may your exposure to these ramblings direct you Heavenward as well!

--Matthew.....becoming August

Thank you Rae, and Dave, for propelling me onto this blogging thing....this is merely an overview....this weekend i will attempt to recount the events i have been journaling....God has continually been surprising me, its been spooky, quite frankly.