What Does It Truly Mean To Serve?

    I think we all understand how important it is to serve within our Christianity. I mean, at least that's what Jesus did, obviously we should too. But I think the question we first need to ask is, why did Jesus serve? Was it because He knew it was the right thing to do? No! He did it simply out of His love.

Is this the common reason why we have served in the passed? Does it matter? I believe it does because, seriously, what good is anything if it is not out of love? That was Jesus' biggest commandment. (Mat 22:37-40) But why do we serve? Do we serve because it is the “right” thing to do, or simply because we love?

It fascinates me to hear of all the different ways we, the body of Christ, serve others. This can be as small as raising a church fund to as huge as a family moving to Africa dedicated to missions work. Why "do" any of these things? Is it because choosing Africa over an Xbox filled summer is the “right” thing to do? Or maybe making a pie for the your poor neighbor is the “right” thing to do? … Or is it simply because we love? If you think about it, it doesn't take a spiritual Christian to “do the right thing”, anyone can do that. but it does take a relationship with Christ to actually love people. No really, think about it, I mean really love them!

I think there has been a huge gap missing within spiritual growth in the church due to this single issue. Every church in America and across the globe can “do the right thing”. But is it really the right thing if love is not the source of our service? Business in the churches will function properly, college students can still barely manage a 2 week missions trip, and we can all talk to strangers about Jesus. But if there is no love in any of these actions, despite their “functionality”, is it not all for nothing?

Okay, so now that I have given my own definition for what it means to “serve”, let me share the meat of my discussion. The only way to serve as Jesus did is to first and foremost “learn how to love”. Learn how to love?... say what?... You can't just “learn” how to love!
This is true. Love is the fruit of the the Holy Spirit shining through our life. The only way the Holy Spirit can shine is by us first knowing Christ. In our flesh, we do not have the compacity to love, which can only come from the Spirit. If the Spirit is within, He will serve through us. Serving "enough" should never be a concern if we already love. If we love, we should have no problem serving. It will come natural.

So yea, to keep it simple... We simply must first know Christ so that He can further love through us and furthermore... “serve”. So if we are doing the serving, it isn't service. If Christ is serving through us in love, bingo.

This is only my opinion. Thanks for reading.

I'm Introverted... Is There Something Wrong With Me?

So is there? What is my problem? Or is it even a "problem"? Is it a

condition... or is it just who I am? I think a lot of introverted people

have asked themselves these questions before, but I don't know that many

ever come to a REAL conclusion. I'd say most just "push through" towards

extrovert-ism and find a way to maintain. So is this blog about me? Yes...

but it is ALSO about other introverts and what they really feel.

I know, at least for me, despite the fact introverts enjoy keeping to

themselves, they still NEED people. Introverts still can get very lonely,

but at a much different level. Introverts like to KNOW there are others

around, but they still want to be kept by themselves to recharge.

Keeping to ourselves as introverts is basically peace and recharging time.

As a whole, I personally do not enjoy being with other people unless I have

had time to recharge. It is naturally calming to just be ourselves without

having to, however much, act a certain way.

Introverts are only truly themselves when they are comfortable in their

surroundings. Due to the fact introvert's place of preference is being

alone, I'd venture to say that they are not truly themselves around others.

It takes energy to perform socially and this energy dwindles at different

rates for different introverts. I know for me personally, I can, after

recharging, be comfortable around a group of people, depending on how large

it is, for approximately 20 minutes. Does that mean I can not force myself

to stay? Of course not! And despite the fact energy runs away from

introverts in social environments, this does not mean introverts can't have

a good time with others. It DOES mean, however, introverts will be

emotionally drained and possibly stressed by the end of the day.

Extroverts on the other hand... they take all our introverted energy away!

They LOVE people!!! For extroverts, every minute is a party of some kind.

As soon as work or school is over, time to txt up some friends for a get-

together! For introverts, this is often the LAST thing we want to do.

Can introverts be better or become more comfortable around social

environments? Yes! But there is still going to be a lot of stress involved,

no matter who the individuals are. Single relationships with others,

however, are very different from groups of people. Introverts do not need a

group of people to maintain their contentment, but typically only one. I

for one can actually recharge in one on one activities. Another above that,

well... the real "me" just isn't there.

Introverts simply desire other things. They are typically deeper in thought

and emotions. Do introverts still desire intimacy with another person?

Actually yes, and I would venture to suggest introverts are much more

intimate and passionate in a one on one relationship (whether sexually or

not). Due to the possibility that introverts are deeper, this only suggests

introverts MAY have a deeper care for others. (This also could be why they

prefer to keep to themselves to avoid any possibility of hurting or

disrupting the homeostasis of a fellow extrovert OR introvert.

Do I believe introverts are crazy? No. I personally belief that introverts

simply have different comfort zones and desires than extroverts.
It is funny, I was just talking to a manager at work today. After asking

her what her passions in life were, she responded with two answers,

"Cooking" and "reading". I simply replied, "Those are the LAST two things I

would put on my list of passions!"
The fact is, everyone has different passions and comfort zones. Us

introverts still love you fellow extroverts and we always want you

around... but we still like to keep to ourselves! =)

Depression - What Is It?!!!

♫ "People Like Us" - Ezra ♫ - For the depressed.

You're Not Crazy

Upon personal experiences of depression and the use of mild drugs like caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol to medicate emotional feelings in the past, I have gained a personal interest in the whole psychological world we all know as the mind. I believe that my own experience in depression and self testing in different forms of medicating myself, whether that be via mild "drugs", diet, exercise, supplements, etc, gives me a very knowledgeable approach towards what depression is and why it is so prominent among some and not others. I am writing this blog for the purpose of being the one to stand in the gap between the depressed and the content. Those who have not suffered from depression simply do not understand those who are depressed and simply say we are/were crazy. This is not the case. So know this, if you are depressed, you are not crazy. There is a conditional reason for your depression. Please read on.

The Causes For Depression

Some like to stereotype the word "depression" and say that it is a result of one and only cause and that is "clinical depression". While this is an easy way to define depression, it is not the only cause. It is definitely one of them, but rarely is it the prominent reason, especially in today's day and age.

Life Crisis

The first and most prominent cause for instantly deep depression is a life crisis. So yes, I will go as far as to say that everyone has suffered from depression at one point in there life, large or small. Depression resulting from a life crisis takes place in two steps.
The First step of depression from a life crisis is the life crisis itself. The awful feeling we get upon experiencing the life crisis spins our psychological state into complete pessimism and without hope.
The second step of depression from a life crisis results from our bodies' natural reaction to take "flight" from the term "fight or flight". This extremely stressful stage of "flight" is a form of hiding from the world for our own protection due to being hurt emotionally. As this stress also begins to build, it begins to deteriorate what serotonin levels our brain produced, leaving us completely "wrecked". Also, as a result of hiding away from the world, we eliminate one of the sole needs in humanity, "social needs". Without fulfilling these social needs, we then build thoughts and feelings of "worthlessness" and "meaninglessness" without giving our state of mind the chance to introduce meaningful parts of our life, which are encouraged through the development of serotonin.

Diet

Diet also plays a huge role in the potential development of depression. The development of depression via diet creeps very slowly before we even know we are depressed. This, I believe, is the second most common form of severe depression, more specifically in today's society.

How can diet play a role in potential depression? Well, seeing that depression is a result of imbalanced serotonin, this gives medical professionals reason to believe that the foods we are eating are not providing the proper precursors of nutrients to develop the very important transmitter, serotonin. In many cases, clinical depression is not the issue, it is simply the lacking supply of serotonin. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter that signals peace and contentment while dopamine is the neurotransmitter that signals pleasure (do not get these two mixed up because they often are). Serotonin is metabolized by the body from its beginning precursor, tryptophan, an amino acid (or protein) commonly found in meats and dairy. This amino acid is then further metabolized with Lithium Orotate to be further broken down into serotonin. If this protein, along with lithium orotate and other important nutrients are not provided in our daily diet, we are only setting ourselves up for a major case of depression.
So, what kinds of foods do we eat? In today's society, most everything, at least fast food, is made up of sugars, carbohydrates, and fats. None of these support the brain function necessary for supporting psychological health involving depression. On the contrary, sugar actually depletes lithium orotate from our bodies, leaving us both without tryptophan or lithium orotate to produce necessary amounts of serotonin. Still think that 32 ounce soda and large fry sounds like a peaceful idea?

Self Medicating Using Mild "Drugs"

On first experiencing depression for long periods of time and without the money to visit the doctor for SSRIs, many might use the following legal drugs...

-Caffeine
-Nicotine
-Alcohol

(The following descriptions of each drug are heavily simplified)

Caffeine has an ability of improving mood via mild serotonin and dopamine stimulation.

Nicotine (more specifically tobacco. Nicotine itself is practically as harmless as caffeine) has the ability of improving ones mood much in the same way as caffeine only with much more relaxing effects due to its stimulating effects on acetylcholine receptors which kill pain.

Alcohol plays a part in its relaxing effect, its raising serotonin abilities, and pain killing characteristics.

Each drug above, and any drug, including SSRIs, used for emotional pain all cause what we know as "crashes". These crashes can last for days, not to mention long term use of the substances can cause horrible hangovers when abstained for short periods. For short term mild "highs", these drugs only upset the natural equilibrium of psychological health pertaining to depression.

Clinical Depression

And finally, I will go on to talk about clinical depression. Yes, this does exist and is very real. Clinical depression is a result of the brain, while even metabolizing healthy amounts of serotonin, sending inadequate amounts of serotonin between the synapse of transmitter receptors within the brain due to weak receptors or overloaded recycling of the serotonin. Those who are clinically depressed do not receive proper amounts of serotonin despite their healthy equilibrium of serotonin.
Clinical depression is genetic and can be severe or mild. Those who are mildly clinically depressed can often times make up for their weak receptors by continually eating healthy and taking supplements of triptophan or 5-HTP, the precursors of serotonin. However, those who are majorly clinically depressed should seek medical help.

Suicidal thoughts are not normal outside of life crisis situations (or even long term life crisis situations). If you have suicidal thoughts seek help immediately from a friend who understands, cares, and can help you diagnose your condition.

Do Something About It!

To all those who are depressed, I want to encourage you not to "just let this go". DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! It is real and you are not crazy! Despite what others say about your current state, it is no mild issue. Seek help from those who have also suffered from depression.

Our Temple is a Condition, Not a "Feeling"

If you or others have doubted your relationship with Christ due to your state of depression, let me say this. Depression, while often times is just a passing faze due to trials in life, does not pertain to your spiritual relationship with Christ. Depression is often simply a condition that can be treated and made normal again the way God intended. While Christ can work miracles, He expects us to do our best to take care of (not pamper) our bodies in the flesh. Prayers are vital, but we are expected by God to also take care of the temple He has given us. Taking care of our temple is a condition, not a spiritual "feeling".

Ezra J. Hall

Being A Man Despite Societies Financial Standards

What A “Man” Used To Be

In previous years, the word “teenager” did not even show up in our dictionary. Children grew straight into adulthood. This was determined by what they were capable of doing physically and mentally. Instead of “waiting until they were ready”, they were thrown headlong into the workforce under very “hard conditions” to make a living for the family. Children grew into adults at very young ages. While a twelve year old could easily plant a five acre garden in the nineteenth century, most sixteen year olds these days can hardly do more than beat a Call of Duty campaign under the most difficult setting. What is happening to “men” in society?!!!

Who's Fault Is It?

Is it our fault? Is it the parent's fault? Or could it possibly be technologies fault? I will say the first one, it's our fault, even though society set new financial standards. These days, instead of families living on physical labor in gardening and / or other manual labor, we focus on understanding technology that does all the work for us. For example, with the food economy so well established, it is cheaper to go to our local grocery store and buy a dozen eggs every week than it is to own and take care of our own chickens. Anyone who has lived on a farm knows how much work chickens alone can be... but imagine not only owning chickens, but cows, goats, horses (used to pull plows), pigs, sheep, etc! These days, we simply need to have the money to buy our food.

Dependence In Economy

But this is where the difficulty in today's society begins. Where can we earn money? Sure, we can work at McDonalds and / or do manual labor all our lives making minimum wage, doing only the small, mindless work that machines can do already, but the financial income would never be enough to raise a family comfortably. How is this problem resolved? Well, we have to find better pay and if machines and technology have taken over manual labor, we are left with only one other selection of work that retains potential financial value... “knowledge”. So the answer is simple. In order for a child to grow into adulthood, he needs knowledge. This takes time! Lots of time! Knowledge is most typically obtained (and excepted) through many years of college... yes... that's right... “many” years of college. Though knowledge is not the only form of financial success, it is typically the most stable form of financial success.

Let's look at children in today's century without even placing them into what we call “teenaged years”. Children go to highschool typically until they are about 16 – 18 years old. Then, for them to become financially stable, they might decide to go to college for 4 years and earn a bachelors degree. Well, by this time, they are already 22 years old, and that's saying they went to college for only 4 years! There is an 10 year difference between a 22 year old man and a 12 year old man! That's pretty crazy!

Issues With Sexual Stress

By the time a man was 18 years old in the nineteenth century, he was already very well experienced in farming and could, if he wanted, get married and start raising a family on his own. What perfect timing! In the case of males, by the time they are 18, their testosterone levels have cranked almost to the max giving them passion driven desires to both be “men” and “leaders” … as well as fulfill the natural desire to mate. Even though not all men in the nineteenth century married at the age of 18, the fact that they were “able” gave them the feeling of confidence they needed to be “men”. For a man to feel like a “man” is very important (and I'm sure the same goes for the women as well... but a... I must admit that I am not quite familiar with their issues as I am with the men).

Our Financial Value Should Not Determine Our "Manliness"

In today's century, we get the impression that we are forced under society to remain “children” until we are either finished with our degree in college and find a job or find some other means of financial stability. Most generally, the guarantee does not happen for men until they are at least 23. That is five whole years of living under raging hormones and testosterone screaming for the desire to be a “man” and to “lead”. Anyone who has been a man knows this is a painful, stressful, and often depressing time of life. Not only is this painful and stressful, but can be very unhealthy, as well as straining to spiritual loyalty in fighting the temptations of pornography and “free sex” that is so readily available in the world, even amongst "Christianity". But we do not have to let society determine our growth of maturity.

As a quick note. Though I do not understand the feelings of women, I do know that while many married at young ages from 13 to 16, these days you only hear of marriage in later years being around 18 to 21. Women have suffered as well in this change in society in waiting for the “childish” men to grow up! Ladies, you mature much quicker than men, but really, find a REAL man! ;) There are a couple out there.

Why I Am Saying Anything?

Do I have a solution. No. This is only an attempt to put the facts (I though up) into clear view to potentially encourage young men not to be children, but mature grown men of God. Society may tell us it's alright to spend years of precious time doing nothing but play video games, do minor drugs, or contemplate "free sex". Even through the imbalanced equilibrium of classification in today's society, God can and will still use us to glorify Him throughout the beginning stages of adulthood. I by no means have it all figured out, but... I just wanted to let all the other young men like myself know that we can be men. We do not have to live under societies standards. Being a young man myself, I want to encourage every young man to live as though the word “teenager” did not exist, to be viewed as a child by society, but still be a man.

Is Communion Really Communication?

I think we view the church as an important form of communion. That's what we hear and believe when we gather together into one place, with one purpose, and one state of mind as fellow believers. But is it REALLY communion? What is communion?


The Greek word for "communion" is "Koinonia" which means "communion by intimate participation. It identifies the idealized state of fellowship and community that should exist within the Christian Church."


"Intimate participation". What is that?! I think some will see that as being in the presence of the spirit or getting super excited during worship service. But communion... wait, doesn't that have to do with the "community"? I believe that this is true. I think we often forget that this "intimacy" involved in the church should be in fellowship with the "community", being the people. But our excitement has woven into seclusion within our association in the church. True, we all assemble in the same room and we might even shake hands and ask one another how their week was... but what does it mean to be "intimately" involved with one another? I personally believe this involves humility and "communication".

To communicate with humility. What does this mean? I personally believe this relates to communicating in a way that says, "I am not perfect, we are not perfect, we understand our imperfection, so 'let us spur one another on towards love and good deeds'" (Hebrews 10:24). This, I believe, is the meaning of TRUE communion, or in this case, Koinonia.

Do we assemble as fellow believers and attend church in the mindset to communicate in a communion with humility, or is our mindset much simpler than that?

Thousands Of Hearts That Beat

"To simply stay alive is not to live a life."

Outside our home, under the same stars, thousands of hearts are beating, just like ours. Outside our house, under the same stars, thousands of hearts are stopping as we speak, just like ours will one day. Some hearts stop with the love of Christ within them, most do not. I see this as an issue, an issue that I want to dedicate my life to help change. A dedication not by simply living the life of a Christian, but really taking the initiative by taking this life, this heart, and this fleshly body to spread as much of God's love and hope as I can before my time on this earth is over. I am a complete believer in keeping my body, God's temple, healthy and taken care of, but if that means simply treating it with warm and cozy Sundays and Wednesday nights, I know that there is more to my "Christian" life than just "living it". I will proudly put "wear and tear" on this body if it successfully glorifies God.

I do not desire to judge, I desire to open the eyes of those who refuse to see truth and what goes on in this same world that rotates beneath the same stars. I do not speak truth with fiery anger, but with disappointment and tears. The truth must be spoken, the people must hear it! Even though God is the only one who can open their eyes and their ears, the least I can do is be there for any opportunity that He may decide to use to do so. I cannot change or save the world, but He can. He is the worker, I hope to only be a tool.

In my speeches, in my music, in my comedy routines, and in my performances, I hope and pray to be glorifying the one and only God of this universe. Whether the fruit of these activities be humorous, sad, or even toe stepping, I wish only to bring others closer to Christ. Do I feel called by God himself to take action in these activities? Maybe, maybe not. I don't know for sure. But I do feel called, as every Christian is, to take up my cross daily and dying to this world as a living sacrifice for the only One who can give sincere love and Hope. Hope... Oh, so little of that is shown in this world today and I am willing to take that leap of faith into the unknown with the potential of happening upon a door God might open to me. It is my duty as a Christian to make that first difficult step.