I love adventure…always have always will! Nothing will change that to the day I die! When I think about it probably one of the most used words in my vocabulary is: Adventure! I know to people around me that I sound like a broken record but there is really nothing like it. I am convinced that we were created for it! I also love telling stories about my adventures…NOT so that people will think that I am cool (because let’s face it, in reality, when a 26 year old woman goes around telling people that she climbs fences, jumps off cliffs, explores caves, etc. etc. that is not really seen as cool but instead the thoughts of immature, insane, and odd may cross the mind) but I tell them so that I may hopefully inspire others to get up and go find adventure for themselves!
I have worked in the ministry for a long time and one of the most common things that I hear about why it is just so hard to follow Christ is that it's boring……BORING!!!!!!!!!! Come on now! I’m not sure what Bible people are reading these days but when I read the stories of the Bible or hear the teachings that Jesus taught while here on earth I don’t see boring. Jesus was not boring (He was extremely controversial)! Paul was not boring (He was always doing something hardcore)! David was not boring (He was a freaking warrior)! Abraham was not boring (He left everything he knew on the promise that God would give him something better…what!)! The prophets were not boring (Read the stories of stuff that they said and did…now they were hardcore)! I would venture to say that the people in the Bible had the most exciting, productive, and adventurous lives that I have ever heard of: And that is why, my friends, I live the way that I do! If I may be so bold, I follow and love the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of the Bible. I have never bought into this formula that many of those that are a part of the Christian culture have bought into:
Read your Bible at least three times a week +
Pray for things + Know the church lingo +
Go to a few conference a year to get your spiritual high Jesus fix +
Go to church at least once a week +
Raise your hands in worship (if your real hardcore) +
Post about Jesus on Facebook –
doing the things that people tell you that Jesus doesn’t like =
You go to heaven (you won’t burn in hell) when you die/you will be accepted into the church culture
I am not saying that any of these things are bad, in and of themselves. But let’s face it. This formula isn’t reality! I never see this said in the Bible not once! In fact, there is not a formula when it comes to living a life following after God.
Now let me say this, I have no problem with the church! In fact, I love the church so much! Church is people! Church is a community of like-minded believers coming together to glorify God and that is awesome! But I find it very sad that many times, when we gather, people tend to preach the word of God as symbolism and they move past the fact that the crazy things that God actually did in the Bible actually happened to form it and fit it to be applicable and symbolic to our everyday, weaksauce, Christian lives.
BOO!!!!
The same God of the Bible is alive and moving in our world today! He is doing incredible things all around the world. He is calling us to be a part of it! It doesn’t matter where you are or what you are doing with your life…we are all called to be a part of it! Answering God’s calling is the greatest adventure you and I could ever desire to have while we are on this earth! Walking and talking with God leads to crazy awesome fun times. I promise you, I’m not trying to say that it is always easy because it most definitely is not. As a new adventure buddy of mine, Michael Vespa, put it, “It’s not an adventure until something goes wrong. That’s when the fun begins!”
The fun begins when you are put in situations where you HAVE to live by faith and there is nowhere else to turn! The fun begins when you learn to be confident in hearing God’s voice and learn to follow it whatever He may say! The fun begins when you see people who were once so bound up in sin set completely free and begin walking in the power and authority that Jesus gave them! The fun is when you see people healed right in front of your eyes in the name of Jesus! The fun is when you are utterly alone with nothing and you see God be everything that you need and more! The fun is when you see your weaknesses become your strengths because you hand them over to God and He became your strength! Being a follower of God is fun, and hard, but fun!
I absolutely love the Pixar movie “Up”. I think it’s because I can directly relate to the little girl, Ellie. She’s always moving, always thinking up fun things to do that are out of the norm, and always hopeful that “Adventure is out there!”
This is my slogan for my life….ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE! The key words in this phrase are “out there”. It’s not “in here” its “out there”. Implying that we must get up and go! Move! Adventure implies that you are taken out of your comfort zone and put into an out-of-the-norm experience!
If you think about it, adventures, at the time, are not exactly all feel goody and a bunch of roses in the moment. I mean lets face it, when you are crossing rivers with a strong current up to your waist while holding your pack above your head in freezing cold water, or stuck in a barbed wire fence you are trying to climb through, or you know that feeling you get when you are about to jump off of something very high into something very cold, yeah its not so fun at THAT time but in hindsight every second is worth it and there is no regret.
That is what adventure with God is like: You know that feeling you get when you know God is about to ask you to go pray with someone you’ve never met before, or He asks you to give away everything in your pocket when you are already dirt poor, or when He says ok pick up and move your whole life somewhere else, yeah not so fun in the moment but in hindsight every step of obedience is worth it and there is no regret!
When I pray for people I pray the words of Paul (in my eyes one of the most adventurous guys ever!):
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand,
as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.
Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of LIFE and POWER that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is ABLE,
through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:16-20)
There is so much to be done! So much to be seen! So much to be said! Let’s not waste our time trying to be normal because you know we all crazy anyway! Haha No but for real….there is a depth to God that He desires for you to reach. There is so much He wants to tell you and so much He wants to do through you! He’s got big plans! He’s got grand adventures planned out for you and Him together!
But in order for this stuff to happen: you have to be willing! It won’t be easy but it will be worth it. It won’t be comfortable but it will be worth it. IT’S SO WORTH IT MY FRIENDS!
Don’t let life pass you by. Don’t let the enemy lie to you and keep you from the things God has for you. Live in freedom. Live in power. Live in authority.
Live life. Get up. And Go. ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
If you feel lead to donate to my World Race (11 months in 11 countries bringing the love of God to all we come in contact with) You have no idea what it would mean to me! My goal is to be completely funded by the time I leave in July 2013. I need to raise $15,500. I have raised a little bit through support and worked hard to raise most of what I have. It will take a complete miracle for this to happen! Lucky for me I serve a God who does miracles and loves to give to His children. I need your help! Be a part of the miracle! Lives will be changed for the good on this trip (mine included 
) and although you may not be able to physically go you can be a part through your giving! If you want to check out exactly what I'm doing go to www.thworldrace.org. Then once you realize how amazing this cause is you can come back to my blog: marieolson.theworldrace.org and click on the SUPPORT ME (DONATE) link on the left side of your screen. All donations are tax deductible. Then you can subscribe to my blog and recieve updates on the many miracles, salvations, and lives changed that you have helped make possible through your giving!
Love you all!
Joyfully,
Marie Olson
