I read this book this summer called hipster Christianity
and I just took the quiz again online and I'm extremely high on the christian hipster scale as embarrassing as that is, an astonishing 87 out of 121
and I'll admit its probably right
I would rather go to a church full of people in their eighties, then go to a megachurch
I would rather listen to hymns and go to a church that sings hymns with an organ so old fashioned that it is impossible to sing along, then listen to tobymac just once
My favorite christian authors are people like C.S Lewis, not Rick Warren
and well evangelism methods like tracts literally scare me, and give me nightmares
I was on the christian hipster side of things, before I knew what a hipster was
and I desperately don't want to be a hipster.
I want to be me and only me
but where does this lead me when my problem with mega churches is not that they are not cool, but I honestly believe they don't allow for enough community, and I believe they are the perfect avenue for consumer Christianity
and I believe tobymac and other ccm artist, are part of the reason Christians are so in a bubble they can't relate and therefore lead nonchristians to Christ
And I fervently believe in the timeless power of C.S Lewis's books
and I believe evangelism should be done by relationships, and methods such as tracts could lead people away from Christ

The book ends by talking about how the main goal of being a christian is being a disciple of Jesus, and leading others to christ. As Rob Bell says in one of his nooma videos( calm down I filter everything rob bell says through then lens of scripture) I want to be covered in the dust of my rabbi. Following him so closely that the dust he kicks up lands on me. But where does this leave me when I see such deep problems in the church, and desperately want to heal the pain the church has caused. I can't reject the church even though my inner christian hipster often times wants to. I have to work with the church, so it can heal from within. SO that people can get to know christ and to make him known. More on this topic watch Lord save me from your followers

something I've been learning recently
3 months isn't even enough to fully learn what a culture is like, and know they heart of a country. One of USP students pet peeves as a whole is when people have been in Uganda a week maybe two, and the feel like they know the country.
Because they don't
Would a person who showed up in America, and spent a week know everything about the country, and how it works? Heavens no!, I'm still learning about my home country of America
So why do we believe we do know everything when we visit other countries, I have no idea
For example I know all about the staple foods of rice, pohso and matoke in Uganda. But do I know exactly what area eats what, nope. Heck I even forget the name of the staple food in my rural homestay region of Uganda.
I know a lot about the leader of Uganda, from my class. But do I know how the people of Uganda, outside of UCU feel about him, nope.

I think one of the worse things we can do when traveling across cultures, Is feeling like we know how everything works, and know exactly how to help, and what exactly is hurt.
wake up America..... we don't
To fully understand a person we have to walk in their shoes for awhile
See life from their perspective.
This takes more then a week
and I'm pretty sure it takes more then a month.
Does anyone remember there first semester of college?
I'm pretty sure that you would say that you had a completely different perception of the people you were with from the beginning of the semester to the end, I know I did.

disclaimer: You can fall in love with a country in a week, you can start to see the heart of the people, you can feel compelled to help forever, I'm just saying you can't know a country, you cant fully know the heart of the people

I'm missing Uganda, but not in the missing USP way like I usually do
I'm missing the sights, the smells, the green
Like the walk I used to talk to my intro to Ugandan politics class
through the forest, and the sticky red mud.
I'm missing the monkeys, and the view from the top of the hill. The view that is unlike anything we have in America
I'm missing the way it smelled when it rained, like everything was being washed clean and becoming new
I miss my homestay, and playing with little constance
I miss the plants there
and the toucan that tried to attack me while I was in the shower
Chapatis and rolex's
and honestly this feeling is starting to scare me, it's the same feeling I had before I signed up for my study abroad semester in Uganda. Could you God possibly be leading me to go someplace crazy again? or back to Uganda? the one place I thought i would never live again?
Or maybe my soul desperately misses the outdoors, oh I need to return to the mountains it's been way to love. I'm longing to live deep and suck the marrow out of life. To walk through trees and hear the crunch of snow. I'm in colorado for goodness sakes

i was just reading my sister's blog
http://www.elaineinnewplaces.blogspot.com/
And I was remembering her experiences in other countries, her longing to be involved in missions. and how God completely changed her heart, and gave her a life in Birmingham that she loves from the depths of her heart. She is truly making a difference there and it makes me so proud to be able to call her my sister
and I keep on thinking God I graduate in a few months..
are you going to change my plans God? or am i really going to end up in Scotland?
Whatever it is God, make me thankful, help me spread your love
that I is all I really want to do after i graduate, I want to spread God's love as I have my parents do , as my grandparents do and have done, and how elaine and ketih do.
Adventure, different countries, different cultures, that's all extra. i want a life where I truly show people that God loves them, by loving them myself.
So God, what do you have up your sleeves? because we both know I'm pretty much open to anything.. Africa?, Europe? Asia?, ...even...Wichita?, if it is where you want me God help me serve you with all my heard, all my strength, and all of my soul.

So here's something I've never told anyone
the first time I got highlights in my hair in high school I sat in the chair weirdly feeling guilty the whole time
I have no idea why i did (which is why I kept on getting highlights, because there is nothing wrong with highlights)
but i did,
But you know what, now that I look back on it, i think it was God telling me how to be me, God showing me how he was shaping me, and how I wasn't paying any attention
God was trying to say Kim I didn't create you to be like all the other girls in marietta (not that they all got highlights), I created you to be you!!!!
but my desire to go with the flow,to be like others, made it so I didn't hear this
But slowly he showed me. He helped me fall in love with the word goober, he gave me this crazy love for Europe, and mountains, oh I love the mountains:. He lead me to Uganda, and even though Kim the shy girl is not the right fit for Ugandan culture, that trip taught me so much. He showed me how to enjoy people again, and how it really is okay to go out of the house without eyeliner and mascara.
God creates us to be nothing but us
and it doesnt matter if we don't fit the worlds perception of who shall be
because all the matters is that we are who God created us to be :)

God's doing HUGE things in my life right now, and it's scary. I could be leaving for Europe/Scotland as early as the end of may, a mere 8 months away... 8 months... Ive been home from Uganda for more then 8 months. It's so scary, and half the time I'm feeling like Moses did at the burning bush... me God.. your sending me? .. aren't you mistaken.... It's me were talking about... But you know what.... God is faithful, and more and more he's showing me I'm ready for this, even if the mere thought makes me shake in my boots.
http://www.ccu.edu/chapel/webmedia/2011-03-10.MP3

I pass a scene similar to this about five times on the way to church, and each time my heart breaks, and each week my heart breaks more. God has called us to give to those around us in need, to give without asking question, for when we give to them we give to him. But what does a young girl driving through denver in the middle lane do when she passes this on a weekly basis. Do I keep granola bars in my car so I can throw them out the window? DO I pray for them, because that all I can do?

The more I learn about God, the more I learn about reaching others, the more I'm convinced, that we need to lead people to christ through our love, our joy, our hope found in Christ. How can I love these men that I pass on my way to CHURCH each sunday?