Fragile and helpless twelve-year-old Primrose Everdeen is chosen to represent District 12 in the Hunger Games, which will inevitably lead to her death. But, out of love, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to give her own life to save her sister's. Remind you of anything?  Today is Good Friday. Today we remember Jesus being tortured and dying on a cross to pay a debt he didn't owe for crimes he didn't commit. I deserve to die, but He took my punishment so I can live. It was the greatest sacrifice, the ultimate demonstration of how much He loves me.

Though the fact that this was a movie about kids who are forced to fight each other to the death was disturbing and difficult to get over, there are several themes that made Hunger Games my favorite I've seen this year so far.

1) Sacrifice.  "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us." -1 John 3:16

2) David vs. Goliath. More than just in a cliche kind of way though. Katniss resembles the David we find in 1st and 2nd Samuel in so many ways. She grew up poor, learned fighthing and survival skills out of necessity, was a tough warrior yet had a tender musical side, showed compassion and sacrificed for others, and went from a nobody to gaining so much popularity that the powers that be wanted to kill her but couldn't because it would make them look bad.

3) Small town vs. big city. Trials in life produce character, and there is a huge contrast in this movie between those that have and have not. Being a nobody from a small town myself, I enjoyed they way Hunger games depicts the down-to-earth people from the districts vs. the shallow, face painted, fake-seeming people of the capitol. The common, small-town people are shown to have more depth and character, but you get the sense that people like Cinna and even Effie aren't all that bad.

4) Government control. The way the government controls people through fear and puts it's propoganda-filled spin on everything reminds me a lot of a large Asian country I know about. Unfortunately, the U.S. seems to be becoming more and more like this, even though it's exactly the opposite of what the founders actually stood for. I used to think it was kind of weird that the Bible teaches that Jesus will reign as king one day, but the more I see how impossible it is for sinful people to govern other sinful people, the more I long for a righteous, benevolent, all-knowing king who totally loves each citizen so much He would die for them.

5) All is awkward in love and war. Katniss isn't sure if the boy really likes her or is just pretending to be head-over-heels to win the game. This kind of dynamic has always intrigued me (being a single guy who wishes he could read girls' minds). I recently flirted with and gave my number to a waitress. She seemed to encourage my feelings because she was interested in me . . . but . . .was she just being nice to not hurt my feelings or simply doing her job so I would tip well and want to come back again?

A similar situation often occurs in relational evangelism. Sharing the gospel with a friend can be tricky. They may be wondering if the friendship was ever genuine or if I was trying to get close to them just so I could convert them. On the flip side, I often wonder if they are truly interested in God or only pretending so as not to offend me. I try my best to communicate to friends that I love them for who they are and our friendship does not hinge on their response to the gospel. I desperately want them to know Jesus because He's the best thing that ever happened to me and that could ever happen to them. But if they reject Him, that does not change who they are to me and how much I care about them.

My friend Raj, who recently became a dad and wrote this awesome prayer for his daughter, gave me some good advice. He said an important goal in dating is to treat the girl in such a way that her future husband (which could be yourself or someone else) will one day thank you. He said that a good relationship isn't measured so much by how long it lasts or if it results in marriage, but by both individuals becoming better people by spending time with each other. I pray for this kind of relationship in dating as well as all of my relationships with everyone, especially those students who I come accross in ministry. I pray they will know Christ as their Lord and Savior because of me, but, even if they ultimately reject what I teach, I pray they will at the very least be able to say, "I am a better person because I knew Matt Doubet."

6) Female teen protagonist. In an action movie. And she's nothing like G.I. Jane.

Today is a special day as people all over the country are praying for the 5,584 colleges in our country. Please take a moment to pray for college students you know and college campuses in your area! You can learn more about the collegiate day of prayer at collegiatedayofprayer.org.

I turned 30 just two days ago (yes on Super Bowl Sunday). What did I give myself for my birthday? A new outlook on life! Yes, this did involve a painful process of letting go of self and realizing that age is just a number, but a big part of my new outlook on life has to do with rhythm. Like any good song, our lives have to have a rhythm. Some people's rhythms are faster and louder than others. The rhythm can speed up or slow down at certain times. But, without rhythm, it's just noise!
 
I came to this new outlook on life in large part due to the time I spent at Impact's annual All-staff Conference.

January 5-9 was Impact Campus Ministries All-Staff Conference at a lovely retreat center near Dallas . As you can see in the above video, we had a lot of fun!  We spent time praying, listening to God, discussing different aspects of campus ministry, and training to use new technologies for communicating with each other and our supporters. My big take away from the retreat was rhythm and rest.

At the retreat, we got up the same time every day, ate the same time, prayed the same time, met the same times, and slept the same time. My body responded and I felt better even in just three short days of our routine. I need rhythm! God built rhythm into all aspects of life. He created the seasons, days, weeks, months, years, and cycles witin them. He made our minds and bodies so that they work best in certain rhythms too. 

God also designed us to rest. Rest is designed to be an intregal part of our rhythm. God's resting on the 7th day set up a rhythm He wants us to follow. We need to take time to rest and know that God loves us for who we are, and our worth comes from our relationship with him and not any amount of work we do or "success" we have. In fact, success is intimacy with Him. So it is vitally important to plan time with Him, so important in fact, that it must be the first thing on our weekly schedule.

So I decided to put what I've been learning into practice. I've been terrible at being organized and living according to a schedule all my life. It's not even funny! But there's something about thinking in scheduling as a matter of "rhythm" that is music to my ears (pun intended).

The first thing in my new rhythm: rest / time with God.

Every day I spend time seeking God's rest when I wake up and stop for 10 or 20 minutes at various times during the day to rest and be with Him. The first thing on my schedule for every week is a day of rest. Usually this is Saturday. I know a lot of people consider Sunday a day of rest, but I consider it a day of celebration . . . and I find that I don't typically get the rest I need on Sundays.

So far: I've found it extremely refreshing to not feel guilty for taking rest when there is so much more I need to do. I find myself falling back into feeling the need to postpone resting or eating in order to get things done. There is still a drive to get things done... even a better one. In working out my "rhythm", I have broken down big tasks into smaller, more managable pieces which has left me less overwhelmed and more anxious to get those pieces done. I'm still working out the kinks, but I feel that the new matt 2.0 is going to be a great new version of me!

As a staff recruit for Impact Campus Ministries, I am required to take a "Personal Retreat Day" once a month. This is time away from normal work and ministry requirements to grow closer to God personally. I like to think of it like Superman going off to his ice cave . . .
I might have a superman complex. I not only tend to think I need to help everyone who needs help, I sometimes try to help others that don't need it. It has taken me several years to learn that it's really God's job to fix things, not mine. He's the healer and the master mender.

I also tend to think that I don't need help from others, or that, no matter how much I would like help, other people don't need to be bothered by my stuff. This too is a learning process I am going through, learning to lean on God and others for things big and small.

Jesus = the real Superman (or Jesus = Clark Kent?)

I know, it sounds corny, but Jesus really is the One who can fix everything and everyone does need Him! But, maybe Jesus is more like Clark Kent than Superman. 

One thing I like about the superman movies is the character of Clark Kent. What image do you conjure up when you think about meekness? I picture Clark Kent bumbling about, spilling coffee to distract people from noticing him use his freeze breath or laser vision. He has all the attributes of Superman (because he IS Superman) but acts as if he were on the same level as the people he's with.

Jesus said, "The meek shall inherit the earth." I wonder what living in that kind of a world would be like! I picture a world full of people walking around with blue superman costumes under their suit and tie, helping each other out but not taking any credit. But the real personification of meekness is not Superman, but Jesus who IS God but put himself on the same level as us, humble . . . human.

Recently I got to visit a dinosaur fossil quarry with one of my best friends Wang Chong, a.k.a. Daniel. Daniel is a smart guy, as most International students privileged to study abroad are. We became close like brothers during the year we lived in the same house. I was asked to visit Vernal Christian Church (one of Impact Utah's strongest supporters) for their annual missions fair and they were happy to accommodate Daniel to come along with me as a guest. Vernal is about 3 hours east of Salt Lake City, in the northeast corner of Utah. Dinosaur National Monument is within a half hour of Vernal, so Daniel and I decided to go dinosaur hunting before returning to Salt Lake City!

The best part about the trip was getting to spend time with Daniel: singing hakuna matata together, talking about God and girls, and praying together about what was weighing heavy on our hearts. After the trip, Daniel made a commitment to pursue a relationship with God by going to church with me and studying God's word!

Here are some photos of the two of us on our dinosaur hunt!

As you can see, Daniel and I had a lot of fun! One of the neat things about Utah is all the beautiful and interesting places to visit.  Utah is the home of five different national parks. I have driven by some of them, but never visited. Even so, I've experienced a lot of beauty here and had a lot of "wow God look what you created" moments!

It's official. I have a blog.

I've begun creating this website in hopes it will facilitate better communication with current and prospective supporters, as well as anyone else who might be interested in what I'm up to here in Utah. I'm working on several blurbs for this site to explain who I am, what I'm doing in Utah, why I feel called by God to be here, info about Impact Campus ministries, info about Utah, stories from my time here, and some of my thoughts on God, life, and the ways of this world and the other.

Writing is one of my favorite things to do, especially when it involves critical thinking and reflecting. I'm looking forward to using this site as a creative outlet, and I hope you find it inspiring, refreshing, and enjoyable!