Sam Prellwitz

Gritty Tuesdays #1   Each Tuesday (God willing), I will post something gritty. By gritty I mean something that, when brushed up against, feels a little like sand-paper. So here it goes... Romans 12: 9-12 (ESV) says this: “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” When I read this, I wonder how frequently I fall short of these expectations. I wonder how much it matters that I fall short. Those words do not promise riches or happiness. They are not some magic formula for ‘the life you’ve always wanted,’ and it’s not like obeying them will guarantee me a place in heaven. But they do convict me. These words create in me a longing for discipline. I long for my thoughts and actions to p...

I was talking with my wife the other day about movies. We had both read an article on the relevant magazine website that talked about emotional pornography (Check it out here ). Which basically details the excessively expressive emotion we view in the every day media. When someone is upset, they’re fiercely upset. When someone is in love, they’re madly in love. And you can tell by the way they act in each 3-minute scene on every prime-time television show.   In a world where reality imitates what we see on the screen , this can be very dangerous. And that’s what Meg and I were talking about. We realized how often we expect most moments to be filled with movie-like emotions. The truth is, that’s not a realistic way to live. Life can be beautiful. God can lead us down paths filled with adventure, but that doesn’t mean that every moment needs to be lived on the emotional ledge. That’s insanity. Realistic reality is slower. It develops in seasons both slow and fast. One evening may ...

Every so often I crave a fresh start. Fresh starts are a cause for reflection, a chance to re-think the way we do things and try to make a few changes. In the past I’ve run into trouble when I’ve set excessive expectations for myself, thinking that I’ll rule the world by year’s end. I’m great at planning the big and the grand. I’m not so good at executing. At twenty three years of age , I think what I’m learning most is that If I’m really going to have some kind of impact on the world around me, I need to do the basic things well before anything else. It’s doing the dishes , making and eating real food, making the bed and cleaning the house, getting to work on time (waking up on time too...), planning our days off in advance, opening the book or the bible (that’s the hardest part), and making a task list every day. I’m not worried about the ideas. Those are welling up like a shaken bottle of champagne. But those ideas are worthless if I’m stuck floundering in structureless chaos. So ...

Never have I dreamed of becoming a wuss, nor have I possessed a passion for becoming some macho-man. I find both types of men insecure and sad. I’d rather be a man without the need to cry out for validation. Someone aware of himself and how he’s perceived, but not ruled by those standards. Jesus never struck me as a softy and I can’t see him as your typical man’s man either. Gritty is the adjective I would assign him. With courage and resolve, he loved the world. Jesus had this gritty sort of presence about him: He wasn’t afraid of getting dirty and he was brutally honest too. And then when you least expected it, he’d give out this full and sincere love that would shock people. And the thing is , he never had to do any of it. He never had to prove himself. He even denied some people that proof when they asked him to do so (the pharisees). He’s the sort of guy that attracts people, that makes people want to be like himself. And that’s what this is all about. “The Gritty Christian” w...