July 26, 2008 by Joel Miller.

1) I LOVE People. I enjoy their company, getting to meet them, and the general social process. Sometimes, this can be a bad thing. Sometimes, I can get hurt.

2) I laugh loudly and often, and I don’t know how to be another way

3) I care. I want to make a difference, and I take action to make this want a reality.

4) I don’t like mean people or people who rub it in when you’re wrong and have apologized.

5) I can’t stand manipulative people. Ugh!

6) Drama is inevitable. Whether you’re 12, 16, 18, 22, 26 or 40. I’m doing the best I know how, and it’s clearly not good enough for some people. I just wish they’d scrutinize themselves as much as they scrutinize me.

7) Selfishness is perhaps the thing that bothers me the most. It’s so against the way life was intended to be.

It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to feel alone and abandoned. It’s okay to be insecure. It’s okay to be angry. It’s NOT okay to use these things as a crutch of safety and avoid change when change is clearly needed.

9) I have a constant yearning to be better. I’m very self-aware.

10) I’m not good at first impressions, and that sucks.

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December 31, 2007 by Joel Miller.

many of you know that i turned 26 on december 29th. it has always been busy and crazy having a birthday in the same week as christmas, but it has come to be something i quite enjoy. but this birthday was unique…it didn’t feel like any other i’ve had.

when jay asked me if i’d help his small groups move some boxes and furniture from a storage unit to an apartment for a lady in the church, my initial reaction (in a whiny, fully sarcastic tone) was “but it’s my birthday”. but needless to say, i was happy to help. i’ve been on a break for the whole week and frankly, i was starting to get bored.

what we expected to be a 2 hour move turned into a 5 hour move, but it’s WHY we were doing it that made it so interesting. we were moving boxes for a lady from the church that has been blessed by the efforts of some tirelessly selfless people. she was homeless, due to some very bad circumstances and some bad decisions leading up. she was living in her car, trying to find a job and get her feet back on the ground. and she wasn’t getting very far on her own.

then, she started getting help. she was encouraged and listened to openly by members of our church. then, somebody found her a job. then, an apartment. THIS was the apartment we were moving her into. so box by box, we were helping a broken person find hope.

finding hope is really what we’re all about, so it was a pleasure in so many ways. the story isn’t over…we have more to do. if you’re from murray hill and you’re reading this, get ready because you might well be enlisted to do what you do best… but for me, what better way to spend a birthday–by giving rather than receiving? unintentionally, i realized that i have more than i could ever want, and that my time was best spent in a team effort to rebuild the life of somebody who has been beaten and broken by a cruel world.

in fact, it’s about the best birthday i can remember.

—–

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

-John 21:15 (NIV)

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November 21, 2007 by Joel Miller.

i’m currently sitting in the beach condo belonging to my roommate’s parents. it’s a nice place (a luxury style 2,200 SF 3BR 3 BA condo with 4 flat screen TV’s and a panoramic ocean view). and it’s funny, because I have come across a striking comparison while I sit here. inside, there are leather couches and 61” televisions, crown molding and faux-finished walls, slate tile and granite counters; it’s all very tastefully designed.

on the balcony, there is a small table and four chairs…that, and the atlantic ocean along daytona beach shores.

on the inside, there’s man’s design. and it is VERY well designed. luxury at its best, honestly. on the outside, there’s God’s design. simplicity at its finest.

do i have to tell you whether i’m in the living room facing the TV or on the balcony, watching the waves?

—

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.” Psalm 19:1-4 (NLT)

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