Saturday, November 27, 2010

Moonshine and Christmas Songs

So there is no doubt one would say I am a hopeless romantic. I don't know when it really started, but at some point in my life, I discovered I had a very sentimental way of viewing things, of thinking of ways to please and surprise a non-existent girlfriend that I always wanted, and at times when I did have a girlfriend, I would put some of those things in practice, probably usually seeming stalker-ish or strange, never being told so because the girl probably enjoyed being doted upon and liked the attention (seriously, who doesn't like attention from someone, especially the opposite sex). So every night when I look at the moon, be it full or just a sliver, I find myself immediately longing for someone to share the moment with, even if the moment is just walking back to my car from a friend's.
But tonight in particular, I discovered something about myself I maybe have known for a time, brief or extended, yet never really examined. I am in love with the idea of being in love. Crazy, right? But it's NOT! Oh how I long to have someone to hold, someone who cares about me, someone to write (I constantly say I hope to avoid using the phone in my next relationship, but we'll see), someone to love... But is that what God wants? Does he want us to love love or to love another person not as we love ourselves, no, even more than we love ourselves. Man, that is difficult to think about.
I don't always feel lonely, I'd even say rarely, and to keep me from doing so I try to remember these words from a friend of mine: "Saying you are lonely is like saying, 'God is not enough.'" Something like that. I try to remember that so often because God IS enough! He is so much more than enough. I do not want to date God or anything silly like that; no, I long to know my God, to seek Him out, to obey His commands, to follow His will, all of which I struggle at, and I continuously need Him to help me with. But I know that if I pursue Him, and He has it in His will for me, He will give me a wife to glorify and praise Him with, and if he doesn't, He will give me a heart to glorify and praise Him with all the same. I just know that knowing Him is so, so, so much more than loving the idea of being in love and chasing someone who MIGHT fit into the mold I have created for myself.

As for Christmas Songs, they sometimes have the same effect on me. I really wanted to say more on them, but I don't feel like talking about them now. You'd even think I might remove them from the title, but "Moonshine and Christmas Songs just rolls off the tongue too well. Except I imagine no one has actually said them out loud while reading this. I sure didn't while I was writing. What stupid logic...

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Time Value of Money

"The most powerful force in the world is compound interest." - Albert Einstein

I have also heard that Einstein also called the Time Value of Money the 8th wonder of the world. And it is pretty amazing. Let's say I invested $1000 right now, and it earned 8% annually (which is unreal today), compounding. I'm 23, so I'll let it sit until I'm 53, a good 30 years. When I pull it out, it will be $10000. Just for letting money sit there. Let's say 10%: ~$17500. 20%: ~$237400! Crazy, huh?

So for those of you who are like, "JP, what are you talking about," this is where I'm going. I heard a man speak this past Saturday on discipleship and disciple-making. He kind of used an illustration like this. What started by taking the world's population today of 6.857 billion (rounded for ease) and said, "If we were able to bring 10000 people to the Lord everyday, it would take approximately 1877 years to save them all." That's a long time. But, he proposed, "what if every year I discipled 5 guys, then those guys discipled 5 more, and those 5 more, all the while continuing to disciple another 5 guys each year myself?" So one man makes 5 disciples like himself, what kind of return is that? 500%! It would be absolutely preposterous to see return like that in the financial world!!! So if we apply the concept of Time Value of Money, changing the terms to 1 disciple puts himself into a process which returns 500%. For 1 year: 6 disciples; 2 yrs.: 36 disciples; 5 yrs.: (catch this) 7776. Wait, what? 1 guy, 5 years of discipling 5 guys, results in 7776 disciples? No way! Well, it gets better. 6 yrs.: 46656; 7: 279936; 8: 1679616; 9: 10077696. So at some point between 8 and 9 years, the entire world would be a disciple. Even the population growth rates cannot over come this kind of return!

While this is a ideal model of discipleship, not accounting for death of disciples or others not going on to discipling 5 each time, seeing the possible effect of 1 man is staggering... One man... In 2nd Timothy 2:2, Paul tells Timothy: "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." It's amazing to see how far one man's life can make a difference...