About Washington, D.C.

Now I shall tell you about my trip to Washington DC that I wrote about almost a month ago before I left. It was pretty awesome. We got to see pretty much all of the monuments, which I thought were really cool. A lot of them had quotes and such engraved into the stone, and it was cool to see evidence of the Christian foundations of our country actually written in stone. My favorites were the WWII memorial and the Lincoln memorial. I also really liked the Holocaust museum. It was very powerful and very sad. I could a lot of the things in there to the plays I've been in, so that was cool. We also had a bunch of workshops and seminars. They were pretty good. I don't know if I really learned a lot in the workshops...maybe a little bit. Mostly it was interesting listening to the opinionated people in my group. One night we got to watch a debate between a liberal and a conservative, which I enjoyed.
The week was really busy without much downtime. I wanted to talk more to my roommates, but I never had a big chunk of time to talk to either of them. I got to know my Roseau friends better though, so that was good. All week I was pretty quiet about my beliefs and never really got into any debates because I didn't have really strong opinions about the things we were talking about. On Wednesday we went to the capital and got to meet with our senators and representatives, and I was going to make myself ask them if they would take any action regarding the war, refugees, and the use of child soldiers in Uganda. But I'm not one who ever speaks up, especially to someone important like that, and I never did. I was pretty discouraged with myself that night, and turned on the relient k song "I'm a little more than useless," because useless was how I felt. But another song on that cd struck me. The lyrics went, "this is how I choose to live: as if I'm jumping off a cliff, knowing that you'll save me..." and "Every breath that I inhale is followed by exhaling, sure as the One who never fails I know will never fail me." I tried to banish fear and live with that total dependence on God. Because for me to speak up or debate is hard. It does take faith in God. I'm not sure of myself at all. But I was headed that night to a topical on the creation/evolution debate, and I was determined to make myself speak up and actually debate on this issue I know so well. And I did debate. It was so fun! I was able to say some pretty good arguments, and maybe slightly sway some people's opinions. I think with that issue people just aren't aware how flawed evolution is and how scientific intelligent design is. I was glad to speak truth.
I didn't really get much other chances to speak out. I had wanted to talk to one of my roommates who is agnostic. I heard her talking to someone else about it and it seemed she was kind of ignoring God because of the hypocrisy she saw around her. I wanted to just tell her not to turn her back on Christ just because of what she saw in those around her who claim to be Christians. She could choose to believe that she doesn't know who God is or what will happen to her when she dies, but the fact remains that Jesus died for her. It's risky to just ignore that when eternity is at stake. She was a very intelligent person, so I wanted to encourage her to check out the Bible and examine Christ for herself instead of judging the religion by what she saw of it in others. I would recommend the book The Case for Christ. (It's a really good book, you should all read it.)
I don't know why I wrote all of that here. But whatever. I think I still will email this girl, so you can pray that it will go over well. It's weird because I hardly know her and I'm sure she's not looking for a sermon. But I keep reading the prophets in the Old Testament--they almost always spoke to an audience that didn't want to hear their message. So, I think I will email her.
So to conclude my rambling, here's another picture.

I still promise to write about my DC trip. (It was great.) But I don't have time now. I just thought I should post the graduation speech I had to write for English. (I'm not actually giving it at the graduation, but I think I will be reading it in class this week.) So, here it is.

Life involves taking risks. Some risks are good and some are bad. Some are bound to have negative consequences, such as trying drugs, drinking and driving, or having sex outside of marriage. But there are many risks that are worth taking. High school has had its share of risks. They may have included getting out of your comfort zone to befriend someone different from you, standing up for someone, warning someone about a poor decision, starting a conversation with your crush, or doing the Napoleon Dynamite dance in front of the entire school. Though I personally have no experience with the last example, I have found these other risks to be worthwhile. They were scary, uncomfortable, or awkward at the time, and I didn’t know what to expect, but in the end I’m glad I took those risks.

As we graduate, we will have bigger decisions to make, with greater consequences. Each of us will have to choose a path and decide what kind of risks we are willing to take on the way. Most will choose a normal, somewhat easy road—a nice day job with nice pay, living in a nice home with a nice family. It could be pretty nice. But it could be so much better. You could make a difference. You could change history. You could have adventure, significance, purpose, impact. But it takes a risk—stepping out of comfort into the unknown.

What risks are you willing to take in life? What are you willing to give up to achieve a greater purpose? Will you risk having a lower paying job to do something you enjoy? Will you give up your comfort and security in the U.S. to help those less fortunate in a third world country? Will you risk offending someone to keep them from making a bad decision? Will you stand up for what you believe in despite opposition? Or… would you rather just be comfortable.

There are many risks worth taking, but there are some risks you can’t afford to take. After all, the choices you make affect your life, your future, and the lives of everyone around you. Most importantly, your choices now carry on into eternity. You can’t afford to risk where you will go when you die. Perhaps it’s risky in a graduation speech to say “Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.” In his time, people thought it was risky for him to claim to be God and state, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” But Jesus knew it was truth. Moreover, he knew that God was with him, and through his life, suffering, and death, he would bring salvation and hope to a hopeless world. He also knew that this was not really a risk at all—His victory was certain, and he proved it by rising from the dead. You can have the same fearless resolve when God is on your side. As a song by Consumed puts it, “I can look right past my grave. Nothing to fear—my soul’s been saved.” If you have accepted Jesus’ gift of forgiveness for your sins, you have “Eternal Life Insurance.”

Even if you disagree with me, it’s extremely risky to ignore what Jesus did and what the Bible says. Jesus said, “If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process?” Jesus talks about the ultimate choice: keeping your life to lose your soul, or losing your life to gain the true and eternal life he offers. I chose the latter—I put my life in the hands of the One who promised to save it. I lost my shallow life and gained a life full of hope and purpose. It’s the best risk I’ve ever taken.

Each of us will take some risks in our lifetime--some good, and some bad. You must be wise. My advice to you is not to be afraid to take risks for things that matter. Take the risk of losing the shallow, comfortable, complacent existence, and strive to really LIVE--with passion, purpose, and hope for eternity.

the end:)

As I wrote this I kept thinking of lots of song lyrics, but I couldn't fit them into my speech except for the Consumed one. (Justin cited my "sweet word choice" in his speech, so I figured I could cite his band.) So here are some of those lyrics.

"This is how I choose to live: As if I'm jumping off a cliff, knowing that you'll save me..." relient k

"Every breath that I inhale is followed by exhaling, sure as the one who never fails I know will never fail me." relient k

"By the wayside we fell. He said it's my way or the highway to hell. It's your decision. Choose it well. He said it's my way or the highway to hell. Which hand holds your soul? Do you want to guess one? If that scares you to death may that be a lesson." relient k

"Have I won monopoly to forfeit my soul?" from company car by switchfoot.

and finally, a verse that I think applies to my generation:

"Young man, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. So banish grief and pain, but remember that youth, with a whole life before it, stil faces the threat of meaninglessness." Ecclesiastes 11:9-10