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Four Walls and Roof

and passionate about celebrities that they kept In your 20s or 30s? We want to hear what’s on at eye level for eight months straight. I your mind as it relates to living out your faith had foolishly worried about being singled out in today’s world. Please send manuscripts at my campus for worshiping God. Meanwhile, (600 words) to [email protected]. everyone around me had turned their walls (And, no, you don’t have to be ordained!) into shrines. Why didn’t I have any posters of the one person every Christian aspires to be As a university student I’ve spent like? Not that I’d find a cheesy picture of Jesus my fair share of time in a dorm room. The to hang on the wall—but I could have sur- one that I lived in for two years was built like rounded myself with some sort of imagery to an apartment, with naked halls lined with remind me of what’s important. doorways. Each room was designed for one One of my friends is passionate about occupant and had limited square footage. A comic book superheroes. Every once in a while she’d say of a female superhero, “She’s NEXT real estate agent would have called it “cozy.” Most students took it upon themselves everything I aspire to be.” In that moment to make their rooms as homey as possible. the superhero posters on her wall made all Whenever I took a stroll down the hallway the sense in the world. Every time she looked there were open doors everywhere. Every at those posters they motivated her to be I had foolishly room took on the character of the person like her hero. That’s an attitude I can respect. who lived in it. Just by walking past some- I started to “get” all those walls plastered worried about one’s door, you learned a lot about them. with posters. These people had the gift of The one thing I always noticed were the passion. They might be funneling it in the being singled out posters. People’s walls were dedicated to wrong direction, but they had a fire burning their favorite movie stars or superheroes. inside. Actors’ faces were plastered over beds, reach- God made with a desire to worship. at my campus for ing out to the corners of the room. So it’s exciting to see people who have a big My walls were just boring squares of desire to do just that. People who don’t have worshiping God. beige. Partly it was because I was lazy. I was God to worship use up all that energy and only going to be in the room for eight passion on other things instead. If they were months at a time, I figured, so there wasn’t pushing it in the right direction it would be Meanwhile, much point. But my room at doesn’t glorious. when I see people with their have posters or pictures either. posters, I’m inspired to be more passionate everyone around I had never really thought about those about my own hero. And I hope that one blank walls until I lived in a dorm. I won- day their passion will find the right target. dered, how could a person love Chris Hems- These days I live in a house. I’ve decided me had turned so much that they needed to have to dedicate my walls to God, to use them to him staring at them? Every. Single. Day? Yep, worship him. In the same way that I strive to their walls into loving the hair. I like Chris Pine just praise God with my words, I’m going to fine, but bro, quit staring at me. to give him praise with my possessions as well. Then the answer started staring me in “But as for me and my house, we will shrines. the face. Actually, Channing Tatum was serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). staring me in the face, but he and his actor Literally. n buddies gave me the answer. At first all of this seemingly unexplainable Emily Monster is a media studies student at Guelph- level of dedication to a bunch of actors Humber University and is an active member of weirded me out. Then it started to make me the church group on campus called Embassy. She feel a little guilty. These people were so loyal attends Mountainview CRC in Grimsby, Ont.

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