Comments on: I Feel “Blessed” http://www.lukedooley.com/2009/12/15/i-feel-blessed/ My thoughts on life, ministry, and other things that are not so serious. Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:20:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Aimee Davis http://www.lukedooley.com/2009/12/15/i-feel-blessed/comment-page-1/#comment-407 Aimee Davis Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:02:43 +0000 http://www.lukedooley.com/?p=403#comment-407 I guess we'll agree to disagree. I do agree the evening provided a great opportunity for both BSM kids and residents of Brookside. No question. The fairly insignificant phrase could be perceived otherwise by some of your readers. I guess we’ll agree to disagree.

I do agree the evening provided a great opportunity for both BSM kids and residents of Brookside. No question.

The fairly insignificant phrase could be perceived otherwise by some of your readers.

]]> By: Larry Renner http://www.lukedooley.com/2009/12/15/i-feel-blessed/comment-page-1/#comment-406 Larry Renner Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:48:23 +0000 http://www.lukedooley.com/?p=403#comment-406 Great stuff Luke ... thrilled that you take the Journey BSM'ers to Brookside year after year. Hoping my son was in your car and that he might have made one of the observations you've mentioned. Peace to all! Great stuff Luke … thrilled that you take the Journey BSM’ers to Brookside year after year. Hoping my son was in your car and that he might have made one of the observations you’ve mentioned. Peace to all!

]]> By: Luke Dooley http://www.lukedooley.com/2009/12/15/i-feel-blessed/comment-page-1/#comment-405 Luke Dooley Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:58:54 +0000 http://www.lukedooley.com/?p=403#comment-405 Aimee, Thanks for your thoughts. I hope that the primary message of the post isn't lost in one fairly insignificant phrase. I certainly don't disagree with anything you've said about each of us being a unique piece of God's Creation. I'm familiar with the verses you mentioned. Your thoughts are spot on... but that was not the subject matter of my post. I was speaking to the phenomenon of receiving blessing while attempting to give blessing... I believe this happens because when we're in these situations, we're living as we were created to live: selflessly, others centered, serving those who are largely forgotten. I hope you notice the context that I used the "cookie cutter" phrase. I was speaking to the radically different positions in life that our teenagers come from as opposed to the residents of Brookside. Without exception, our teens are: caucasian, healthy, wealthy, suburban teenagers with budding social lives, massive amounts of love, affection, and full opportunity for a bright future. The residents we hang out with at Brookside are: multi-cultural, far from healthy, largely impoverished, receive little to no visitors, experience very little love and affection outside of what they receive from the Brookside staff, and the only future many of them realize is a trip to the hospital, and more complications from their disability. So yes, while each of our DNA, gifts, and talents are beautifully individualistic, in the sense of life situation, we (us and our BSM teens) are fairly cookie cutter. Maybe a better word for our group would be homogeneous. Our teens are largely the same kind, cut from similar cloth. -Luke- .-= Luke Dooley´s last blog ..<a href="http://www.lukedooley.com/2009/12/15/i-feel-blessed/">I Feel “Blessed”</a> =-. Aimee,

Thanks for your thoughts. I hope that the primary message of the post isn’t lost in one fairly insignificant phrase. I certainly don’t disagree with anything you’ve said about each of us being a unique piece of God’s Creation. I’m familiar with the verses you mentioned. Your thoughts are spot on… but that was not the subject matter of my post. I was speaking to the phenomenon of receiving blessing while attempting to give blessing… I believe this happens because when we’re in these situations, we’re living as we were created to live: selflessly, others centered, serving those who are largely forgotten.

I hope you notice the context that I used the “cookie cutter” phrase. I was speaking to the radically different positions in life that our teenagers come from as opposed to the residents of Brookside.

Without exception, our teens are: caucasian, healthy, wealthy, suburban teenagers with budding social lives, massive amounts of love, affection, and full opportunity for a bright future. The residents we hang out with at Brookside are: multi-cultural, far from healthy, largely impoverished, receive little to no visitors, experience very little love and affection outside of what they receive from the Brookside staff, and the only future many of them realize is a trip to the hospital, and more complications from their disability.

So yes, while each of our DNA, gifts, and talents are beautifully individualistic, in the sense of life situation, we (us and our BSM teens) are fairly cookie cutter. Maybe a better word for our group would be homogeneous. Our teens are largely the same kind, cut from similar cloth.

-Luke-
Luke Dooley´s last blog ..I Feel “Blessed” My ComLuv Profile

]]> By: Aimee Davis http://www.lukedooley.com/2009/12/15/i-feel-blessed/comment-page-1/#comment-404 Aimee Davis Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:30:11 +0000 http://www.lukedooley.com/?p=403#comment-404 With all due respect I must disagree with a phrase from your post - "a bunch of cookie cutter suburban teenagers". Hardly. Each teen in Big Student Ministries, and the entire world's population for that matter, represents a unique individual created by God in his own image. Even scripture reminds us of our individuality in God's eyes: *God knows the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30) *we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) Each student in BSM has been created with individual gifts, personalities, likes/dislikes, and so much more. Imagine if each person's uniqueness was celebrated and individuals were challenged to bring their gifts to the table. Food for thought... With all due respect I must disagree with a phrase from your post – “a bunch of cookie cutter suburban teenagers”. Hardly. Each teen in Big Student Ministries, and the entire world’s population for that matter, represents a unique individual created by God in his own image.

Even scripture reminds us of our individuality in God’s eyes:

*God knows the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30)

*we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)

Each student in BSM has been created with individual gifts, personalities, likes/dislikes, and so much more. Imagine if each person’s uniqueness was celebrated and individuals were challenged to bring their gifts to the table.

Food for thought…

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