Have you ever really wondered what you were made to do?  That question fills our minds as we travel through India.  Fundamentally, I believe in happiness.  I think God is happy. Despite all the misery, suffering, and pain in the world, I still maintain that God is happy and He desires all people to experience deep, lasting happiness.  There are many things that look like happiness, but are not.  Pride can look like happiness.  Greed can look like happiness.  Then there are those things that don't look like happiness but are.  The nun who cares for disabled children every day.  The 70 year old couple who  sacrifice retirement to care for the poor.

I have tentatively (and until further notice) come to the conclusion that true happiness is directly tied to two principles:

1.  I must never seek my happiness at the expense of others, or irregardless of the happiness of others, but only in the happiness of others.

2.   To experience lasting, real happiness I must discover who I am (and who I am not) and what I was made to do.

Those two concepts are a large part of what brought me to India.  I want to be happy and help others be happy and I want to discover my vocation.  I had a conversation with a very remarkable man here about how to figure out what to do with my life.  Out of that conversation has flowed some fresh thoughts.  I have always enjoyed innovating.  My mother can testify that I am always scheming.  I think it is fair to say I have a bit of an entrepreneurial bent as well.  I like working with my hands and I prefer to be outside.  I believe in Jesus, that He is the hope for the world.  I believe He gave His life for others and instructs his followers to do the same.  So where does that leave me?  Depends on the week you ask me.  In India, we are growing and changing so much, it is hard to keep track of my own thoughts.  Right now, I think it leads me to Social Business; starting projects and legitimate businesses to benefit individuals and society as a whole.  Audrey and I have recently discovered our mutual love for cows (strange, I know).  We were in the city of Solapur a few weeks ago and we were able to learn about and witness a social business that helps rural families get a cow to supplement their income and dairy diet.  Its a great concept and perhaps something we could support and duplicate.

I just wish I felt confident in myself or in what I am supposed to do.  Even when I think I have an idea, there is always doubt and uncertainty.  And what if I fail and make a mess of everything?
The pursuit of happiness is a risky one, but I have to believe it is worth the wager.  These are the wrestlings of my mind in Bangalore.  We are really enjoying our time here.  If you want to visit India, come to Bangalore.  So far, it's our favorite city.  If you want to meet some inspiring people, visit Divya Shanthi (just tell the auto-rickshaw driver Lingarajpuram bridge).  And if you want to support people investing in the happiness of others as well as there own, and doing incredible work for the poor consider giving to Divya Shanthi.  Audrey and I are going to give to them as well.

We are missing the fall in Colorado and Ohio (our favorite season) and many of you with it!

Please feel free to add comments to any of our blogs, we really love hearing from you.

In hope,
Matt

psst...check out these links:
Divya Shanthi
Chris & McKenzie's Blog
Andrew Horne's Blog
  

It's been a long time since a post! To be honest, so much is happening in heart and in the days here that it's difficult to put these movements into words. I was praying about this post this morning and wondering what to write...

I came across this passage in 2 Corinthians. This passage resonated with me on the whole, and even in the way Paul describes their troubles, but more than that, it emphasizes that Jesus is EVERYTHING, God always shows up & we have a great HOPE to hold on to! As you read it, remember that Paul is the writer here, not me; and Paul went through far worse turmoil than we are experiencing (moms & dads, don't fret!).  So, read on. It's long, but SO GOOD.

2 Corinthians 4//5//6 from The Message.
Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!

We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!

So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.

That’s why we live with such good cheer. You won’t see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don’t get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we’ll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming.

But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that’s what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. Sooner or later we’ll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions. We will appear before Christ and take what’s coming to us as a result of our actions, either good or bad.

That keeps us vigilant, you can be sure. It’s no light thing to know that we’ll all one day stand in that place of Judgment. That’s why we work urgently with everyone we meet to get them ready to face God. God alone knows how well we do this, but I hope you realize how much and deeply we care. We’re not saying this to make ourselves look good to you. We just thought it would make you feel good, proud even, that we’re on your side and not just nice to your face as so many people are. If I acted crazy, I did it for God; if I acted overly serious, I did it for you. Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do.

Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.

Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.

Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us,

I heard your call in the nick of time;
The day you needed me, I was there to help.

Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don’t put it off; don’t frustrate God’s work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we’re doing.