#the100project

+ Includes any scene in which they are featured interacting for the majority of the scene and/or scenes focused on them.

+ Also includes ‘moments’ i.e. any brief interaction, especially in the middle of larger scenes. May or may not include dialogue.

+ Small, ‘background’ interactions are not included in these times.

+ These times are approximated based on my judgement and should not be considered 100%.

SEASON 1

Total Screen-Time Overall: 16.79 min

Total Number of Scenes/Moments: 16

Episode with the Most Screen-Time: 1x01 (4.45 min)

Episode with the Least Screen-Time: 1x12 (0.17 sec)

Average Screen-Time per Episode: 1.86 min

Episodes of Interaction: 9/13

SEASON 2

Total Screen-Time Overall: 30.62 min

Total Number of Scenes/Moments: 28

Episode with the Most Screen-Time: 2x13 (8.02 min)

Episode with the Least Screen-Time: 2x12 (1.01 min)

Average Screen-Time per Episode: 3.40 min

Episodes of Interaction: 9/16

SEASON 3

Total Screen-Time Overall: 22.68 min

Total Number of Scenes/Moments: 20

Episode with the Most Screen-Time: 3x03 (6.15 min)

Episode with the Least Screen-Time: 2x16 (0.36 sec)

Average Screen-Time per Episode: 2.83 min

Episodes of Interaction: 8/16

SEASON 4

Total Screen-Time Overall: 12.74 min

Total Number of Scenes/Moments: 14

Episode with the Most Screen-Time: 4x01 (4.25 min)

Episode with the Least Screen-Time: 4x11 (0.10 sec)

Average Screen-Time per Episode: 2.12 min

Episodes of Interaction: 6/13

+ Season 2 features the highest number of scenes and combined screen-time.

+ Season 4 features the least amount of scenes and combined screen-time.

+ The episode featuring the most screen-time is 2x13 with over 8 min.

+ The episode featuring the least amount of screen-time is 4x11 with barely 10 sec.

+ After season 2, there has been a steady decline in shared interaction.

Profession: Applications Specialist - IT, Author & Confidence Coach

Years keeping it 100: 19 years

WHO IS JESUS TO YOU?

Jesus has always been to me a keeper of my soul, but in the last year & a half with everything I’ve gone through with the loss of my husband he is a friend that shows up when no-one else does.  He has wiped my tears.  You know what?  He just gives me my space, he allows me to be who I am.  I’m not perfect.  He meets me right where I am.  And no matter where that is he right there with me.  There is a scripture that says “he is closer than a brother” & I’ve never known that more than I’ve know that now.  And so for me that’s all been a learning process because when you have a spouse, you know the truth of the matter is you sometimes forget about Jesus. [laughs] It’s the truth.  And it wasn’t until I lost him [husband] that I understand that he [Jesus] really is a friend, a lover, a keeper.  I can go on & on & on about who he is to me, but most importantly he is the keeper of my soul & for that I’m grateful.

HOW DID YOU BECOME CONVICTED JESUS IS THE REAL DEAL, THAT IS WHO HE SAID HE WAS?

I’ve been saved since 9-11 & it took me a really long time to figure that out.  I know that I have been in situations in my life, whether I acknowledged him or not, that I knew he was real.  And the bigger question is, how do people do it without him? For me of course, I know that now, but back then…  He is the real deal.  I know I’ve been in situations where I’ve been abandoned & left alone & miraculously people show up to save me.  And I know that’s not because me & my wonderful self deserves that.  So he is the real deal.  He shows up, when no one else does.  He will send you signs, whether it be a song, a television program, a book, a friend, you know that’s not you.  You know that’s Jesus meeting you right where you are, g iving you what you need in that moment.  Now I know he is the real deal.  Since 2001, 19 years later, he is the real deal.    

WHY DO PEOPLE NEED JESUS?

Let’s start by saying I don’t know how they do it without him.  I’m going to quote scripture a little bit because he is the truth, the way & the life.  He is the light of the world.  He will provide a way that no one else can.  So I myself have been lost many times & without even claiming Jesus as my Lord & savior, he’s always been there to guide me.  And so 2020’s hindsight & here am 54 years later in my life wondering how did I make it through so many obstacles without Jesus.  He is a way maker, he is a director.  He’s like a GPS, right? So you could be walking on this path called life, us being who we are, we think all together & Jesus will come & say “I need you to make this detour because that right you’re about to make that is going to destroy your life.”  And I can tell you time & time again as a witness that I’ve made the wrong turn & he’s always directed me back.  So I think my question would be “How do people do it without him?”  That’s a bigger question ‘cause for someone who’s had him in their life for so long, for 19 years, I don’t know how I’d live the next 40 - 50 years without him directing me & giving me instruction.  So people need him number one for instruction in their lives, to guide them to their next level, to help a hopeless world.  I mean we are in the middle of a COVID-19 & there are so many people who are physically & mentally loosing their minds.  To lean on him will give you comfort.  It’s the only way for me to describe it.  The night’s where you’re not sleeping, you call out his name & he’ll give you sweet sleep.  He holds your hand when there’s no one there to hold your hand.  He so big.  He’s so large.  And he’s so wonderful!  I’m just going to say, people you just need him. [laughs] There’s no other way to say it.  You need him to lead you & guide you through this challenging thing called life.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING ABOUT JEUSUS YOU WISH EVERYONE UNDERSTOOD OR KNEW ABOUT JESUS?

So that is my favorite question because Jesus is a gentleman. And the reason I say that is because you know how God gives us free-will?  He will not impose anything on you because of your free-will.  And although he will make suggestions & I love when the scriptures talk about the blessings & the cursings & life & death & God says “choose life” but there are people who still won’t make that choice.  Jesus will not beat on you, he will not badger you, he will not harass you.  He will love you from the place where you are.  He will always be a gentleman.  He will always present it as if you are going on your first date & someone brings you flowers & pulls out the chair for you to sit down & you have a lovely dinner & he kisses you on the cheek goodnight.  That is the analogy I use about Jesus.  He’s just a gentleman who will embrace you ever so gently, love you ever so gently, but will never ever impose anything on you that you don’t want for yourself.  So if I had to describe him as anything, he is the consummate gentleman.

Profession: Japanese Language Teacher

Years keeping it 100: 26 years

WHO IS JESUS TO YOU?

Jesus is my savior.  Also he is a giver.  He gives his life, he gives eternal life, hope, healing, joyfulness, everything.  He knows what I need & what my family needs.  So he gives so many things I can’t count.

HOW DID YOU BECOME CONVICTED JESUS IS THE REAL DEAL, THAT IS WHO HE SAID HE WAS?

I read the Bible the first time 26 years ago through my father-in-law, he was a missionary pastor.  He talked to me about Jesus & Bible stories.  The first time I didn’t believe that a human was God.  I believed in God, but I always prayed to some idol.  Buddhism, Shinto & the ancestors my family had in our household.  So I was praying to things.  And so the Bible said don’t make idols, but I believed that the idols had in their insides a soul.  I couldn’t believe that God came to earth as a human.  But I started to read the Bible & learned about sin.  I always prayed to the idols & wanted to ask them something, to change my heart.  But they never changed my inside.  So I realized God’s only son, Jesus, came for all people, for sin he died on the cross.  I realized my sin.  I knew my bad heart, my insides I couldn’t change by myself.  And the idols couldn’t change me. The scripture, God’s word, so many words touched my heart.  I started to pray & I realized that only this Jesus can change my sin.  And I believed he died on the cross for my sins.  I believe it.  

WHY DO PEOPLE NEED JESUS?

Because people need love, the true love.  So God, his love is very merciful.  Also, if people know God’s love then they have hope.  And of course we are going to die, everyone is going to die & people have fear, I’ve had fear too.  But God promised no fear with Jesus’s resurrection.  And his love it’s amazing.  Yes, people need his love.  

WHAT IS THE ONE THING ABOUT JEUSUS YOU WISH EVERYONE UNDERSTOOD OR KNEW ABOUT JESUS?

His love.  His love & his forgiveness for sins.  He protects us in that he has a plan for every people.  And that he loves and that he is a faithful God.  I want them to know his love.

Profession: Licensed Mental Health Clinician

Years keeping it 100: 30 years

WHO IS JESUS TO YOU?

That’s loaded. He is everything. I can’t imagine anything without Jesus in it. I put him first in everything I do. It’s overwhelming when I think of how much I trust in Jesus & how much he’s done for me.  And it’s evident with where I am now because without him I wouldn’t be who I am & when I didn’t have him I was lost. So he’s everything.  

HOW DID YOU BECOME CONVICTED JESUS IS THE REAL DEAL, THAT IS WHO HE SAID HE WAS?

So I was raised in church, born into church, went to church my whole entire life, but it wasn’t until I lost my mom that I, & that was one of my biggest fears since I was younger because my dad was abusive towards my mom.  I was always afraid that she wouldn’t be home I got home from school & my biggest fear growing up was loosing my mom.  And then it happened when I turned 29.  So it was like “Wow, God where are you. Like how do you let my mom go?  Out of everything else in life why is she the person that had to leave?”  So that was hard for me to wrap my head around & because a lot of memories with my mom was formed through church, it was hard for me to go.  It was hard for me to really connect with God because when she was sick, I prayed.  I was hoping that he would save her & it didn’t happen.  What I learned was it was what I had in me, my faith, that brought me through my mom’s death, took me through it actually.  Although I didn’t go into the physical building, he was with me.  And that’s the only reason why I’m here today.  

WHY DO PEOPLE NEED JESUS?

As I mentioned earlier without Jesus you are lost.  I’ve tried it.  I don’t want to believe in anything I just want to go out in the world & do what I have to do, but I was lonely, I was sad, I was always looking for something to fulfill that emptiness in me.  That emptiness that Jesus could fill.  He’s the only person that could fill it.  No one else.  So it was just not having that fulfillment & feeling empty & always searching for that thing.  And then when I allowed him back into my life, that thing that was once empty was filled.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING ABOUT JEUSUS YOU WISH EVERYONE UNDERSTOOD OR KNEW ABOUT JESUS?

I mean it’s something that I’m still learning & it’s that if you trust in Jesus, if you delight in him all of your heart desires you will receive, according to his will.  It’s one of those things that you go back & forth with, like what’s more important? Just waiting for it or just trusting God & he will provide.  And that’s what we need Jesus for.

Profession:  Textile Designer

Years keeping it 100:  26 years

WHO IS JESUS TO YOU?

Jesus to me…I hope you have all day.  Well…Jesus is so much to me & it’s really sort of hard to put it in words, really.  He’s first my savior, you know my Lord, but in addition to that he’s my greatest confidant, he’s my best friend, he’s my anchor.  He’s who I run to when I feel lost or hopeless or if I’m upset.  I feel he’s the only person that understands me, he gets me.  And so he is my all encompassing person, you know, he provides, you know, he listens, he corrects me.  And even in the moments when I feel as though I am being corrected & disciplined by him in a way that isn’t comfortable, you know, I recognize that it’s important. You know what I mean?  I love my dad, I love my mom & was I happy as a kid when I was spanked or reprimanded?  No.  But I valued them as my parents & I understood that they were doing something that was right.  And so he’s also my disciplinarian & I love him.  Truth is, he’s my everything.  And it’s hard to put in words who Jesus is to me.  I say to people I don’t know how I would survive, how I would function had I not known him, you know what I mean?  And I understand why people who don’t know him, they have no sense of being anchored, you know, they have no hope.  Which is why they turn to so many things to pacify themselves, you know, drugs, alcohol, sex, that sort of thing.  He’s proven himself over the years to be the one person that I can trust, who will never let me down.  My family means everything to me, but I recognize that they’re mere humans, that they’re greatly flawed & at no point are they to me everything that I need them to be.  Jesus has been that, you know what I mean.  He’s been a counselor & a wise one.  And a great friend & a comforter. In my darkest of moments, when I can’t share my deepest pains with someone else who I feel might not understand or who might judge me, I can run to him. And even in the absence of words, I feel his comfort & his reassurance, you know.  So to put it simply, he is my anchor, my hope, my strength, he’s my everything.  And would I hate to imagine a life apart from him, you know what I mean?  I live for him.  I live for him.

HOW DID YOU BECOME CONVICTED JESUS IS THE REAL DEAL, THAT IS WHO HE SAID HE WAS?

I think as a spiritual being, you can’t help but realize that there’s a force greater, bigger than you are.  And some will say “the universe”, you know, but I think a part of us, each person, even atheists, recognizes that there is something there. And some people give credit to science.  I’ve come to realize that my God is beyond one that I can intellectualize.  And so he is spiritual.  And so from a very, very young age, I’ve always felt a connection & a connection with a divine being.  And I was taught early, that this was, that his name was Jesus & you know I went to church & I saw people around me having a certain experience & uh more than I understood it, it was something that I had an appreciation for because I realized that these people, believed in something that was really, really huge.  And so my curiosity would always lead me to not just say the prayer “our father” & just repeat words, but I really wanted to find out who this God was.  And so as a kid, there were very specific prayers that I would pray. And they were answered for the most part & to me that was a confirmation that this Jesus was real.  If I was sad as a kid & I prayed about a particular thing that made me sad, I would experience peace, I would experience joy.  And then as I got older & I started to read the scripture for myself, then I started to get great revelation about Jesus.  And it would solidify in my mind, one of the things that I’ve always believed in.  That Jesus wasn’t just this person you go to church on Sundays to worship.  That Jesus was real, that he was a real person, that though we couldn’t see him or hear him, you know touch him in a tangible way, that he was real.  And that he was concerned about me.  And so the more I started to read the word, the more real he became to me.  And the more I started to pray.  And as I started praying then I started worshiping & I would sense his tangible presence.  And I knew when I was 18 for sure that Jesus was real.  Why?  Because there was a part of me that started searching.  And I was searching & I don’t have to do this, it’s so weird talking to a tablet, it makes me feel a little rigid almost, but I started searching for something because there was an emptiness inside, there was a void.  So even although I was reading the word & praying there was a void, yah.  And I remember the summer of 1991, I started praying like “Lord, I want to get to know you better,” right?  But it so happens that at the same time that - there was a church not far from where I lived & you know there were these beautiful girls who would come together for these meetings on Fridays.  I was like “oh man” & I said to my brother because we were in college & we lived together & we were away from our parents & I said to him “let’s visit these, this youth group on a Friday & see what it’s about.”  He was like “yah sure.”  So the first night I went by myself ‘cause my brother had to work & I was like “oh man this is dope, this is kool, these girls are pretty & you get to know people”.  And then as I started going, the meetings became more about me meeting people, being a social thing & I started having, it taking on its own form & having a certain meaning.  And I didn’t realize God was setting me up.  That same summer, maybe a month and a half later, I had a dream & in the dream - it was a dream, but it felt so real, but it was God coming to me & he said to me “I’m ready for you.”  And I said “What?  You’re ready?  If it’s to die, I’m not ready to die.  If it’s to get saved, I’m not ready, I’m just 18. I’m just starting to live.  I need to enjoy life & spread my wild oats & you know, I need to do me.  I’m not ready.  I need to party a little more.”  Then he left the room & I was weeping.  So I continued to return to these meetings.  But God started making himself real to me.  Yah.  Because all of this came, one first from this little desire to really connect with this Jesus who I’ve been hearing about all my life who I’ve prayed to as well & I read about.  And it’s amazing how he sets it up.  He creates a desire, once I start saying “I want to get to know you” he says “ok I’m going to create a greater desire” & then oh well here’s a church next to me, next door pretty much & I would not have gone had there not been this huge meeting & these girls that were coming together as part of the meeting.  And that led to me hearing the word & being in an atmosphere of worship.  And then I have this dream & then after the dream, I was invited by my brother’s supervisor to another church.  And the long short is we both got saved there weeks after visiting.  At this point I think, it was sort of like fertile soil if you will.  And my heart was open & tender to receive Jesus.  So I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was real.  Because there was a desire that I had. That it’s just hard to explain.  It’s, it’s my spiritual man crying out for this connection because you know we’re designed for him.  And I found Jesus that year.  Yah?  I can’t tell you, the many thousands of experiences that I’ve had that have confirmed in my mind, in my heart, in my spirit, that Jesus is real.  It goes beyond an answered prayer.  It’s about experiencing certain peace that I never knew before, that a woman, my family, a job, a degree, money, cloths, all the things I love, couldn’t give me.  It’s a presence that assures me in my darkest moments that it is going to be alright.  Even if I’m facing a challenge at the moment that seems insurmountable, to know in that moment, that Jesus is with me.  As real as you are to me, he is to me.  I can’t see him.  But I experience him through others, others loving me.  The fact that I get up everyday & I can do this the things we take for granted because how else can we do that without him?  So Jesus is real & has proven himself to me day after day through different experiences.  He’s real.  He’s real.  

WHY DO PEOPLE NEED JESUS?

Because we all need a savior.  We all need to be saved.  Saved from ourselves, most importantly.  But - and that’s really what it boils down to.  Why did he come?  He came to save.  He came to deliver us. And primarily from sin, to rescue us from hopelessness & a destiny - a destiny with the enemy where our souls would be in perpetual misery.  And so I think just the same way that one could say well I need a husband or I need a wife to feel complete, someone to go home to at night & of course there are more reasons than bedding someone, but for companionship.  Some people get married to feel secure, to have someone to partner with, to have someone build them up & build someone else up & to complete them & you know to just have someone - so bottom line is, we all need a savior.  And I recognize each day how just imperfect I am & I always say to people that my faith is not out of tradition, it’s not out of me being religious, it’s about recognizing my need of Christ because I’m a mess without him.  A royal mess.  There’s no good in me, right?  And it’s one of the things I say to people often when I share Christ with them because often times we come across as hypocritical because we say “well you’re bad & that’s why you need the Lord” & I say “No, you know what? We’re all bad & without him, I’d be worse than you are.  And that is why I need him.  I need someone to keep me focused, I need someone to bring out the best in me.  And only he can.  I need someone to rescue me from me because I think I am my biggest enemy.  There is no good in me apart from him.  I need him because there’s no peace without him.  There’s no joy without him.  I am miserable without him.”  I can always tell when - because sometimes you know you’re sort of on autopilot & you get busy with life & what have you. But I can always tell from having a certain feeling - something’s off, what’s wrong?  Oh, I haven’t been praying.  I haven’t been reading the word.  I haven’t been listening to God.  I haven’t been worshiping. You feel the difference.  My mind is on everything else other than what it should be on.  I can’t focus - my thoughts, my though pattern, it’s corrupt.  And I have to be real.  I have to be real.  I’m not going to tell you well - my best days are the days when I seek him before I leave the house.  When I get in the word. Those are my best days.  I need him for direction, to get guidance.  Otherwise I’m walking around hopeless, I’m lost.  And I don’t want to sound melodramatic, but it is what it is.  This - God has - he’s set up my life in a way that I recognize my need of him.  There was a time when, even as a Christian, I was very dependent upon self & I felt as though I was unstoppable.  And he had to change those things.  So sometimes he brings us to the end of ourselves to recognize “Dude!” (*chuckles) “You’re nothing without me.  And I’m going to prove to you.  And I’m going to take you down a certain path that you’re going to recognize your need of me.”  And so he takes away our crutches.  He takes away everything that we thought in life were the things that made us valuable, the things that made us important or  feel important, the things that gave us value.  And so you realize it’s not your degree.  You realize it’s not money. (*chuckles)  And so while I’m such an imperfect Christian, I’ve just come to realize that man, I can’t survive without him, that I need him everyday.  Every single day.  Everyday.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING ABOUT JEUSUS YOU WISH EVERYONE UNDERSTOOD OR KNEW?

That his love - that he loves us more.  He loves us regardless of our strugglings, our failures.  He loves us regardless of our past.  And that love represents forgiveness.  Because of his love for us, that he is so compassionate & understanding & patient.  You know I think all of that love encompasses all of that.  Because I believe for a very long time, the world has taught to believe that the one idea - of course there is heaven & there’s hell, but too often what we preach to the world is hell fire rather than the love of God.  And that’s really why Jesus came because of his love.  The Bible says “for God so loved the world that he gave his only son” & Jesus came because of love.  You know he didn’t come to punish us.  He didn’t come to judge us, certainly not.  The day of judgement is coming, but he really came to save us because of his love for us.  And I really wish that people could understand the love of God because this is what changes our lives.  And he doesn’t change it for a season, but he changes it forever.  I think that once you’ve had a real encounter with him, you can’t help but be changed.  You can’t help but become a better person because love, love does that.  Love heals, love comforts, it reassures, it restores, it provides, it protects.  And like I said in my first question it corrects.  That’s love.  So if you think of love, in its truest & purest form, that’s Jesus.

Vanessa

Profession: Author, Speaker, Executive Leadership & Life Coach

Years keeping it 100: since age 16

WHO IS JESUS TO YOU?

So Jesus to me is a friend, a savior, my confidant, really my guide, my life guide. Jesus represents all that I want to be & is consistent in a world that is inconsistent.  

HOW DID YOU BECOME CONVICTED JESUS IS THE REAL DEAL, THAT IS WHO HE SAID HE WAS?

I grew up always believing that Jesus was a Biblical figure that we were suppose to look to.  I definitely had a relationship with Jesus when I was a child but it wasn’t really until after I’d really been serving the Lord a long time that my relationship deepened in a way that I realized life was always going to be better if I chose to believe the truth about who Jesus said he was & is.   And that was when I was sick.  I was diagnosed with cancer for the first time, I had been left by my first husband for the second time & I was in this really horrible time in my life & I was alone & sick & I just remember feeling like I had nothing.  That was the period of my life that my relationship with God & more importantly with Jesus, this really tangible person that I could relate to, became alive to me.  And that’s when I would say that I knew that no matter what happened in my life, that would always be the same.  That would always be consistent.

WHY DO PEOPLE NEED JESUS?

I will tell you why I need Jesus.  I think that I’m a person & I’m a human being in this world & I’ve experienced things that I’m sure other people have experienced & so I hope that people can relate to why I need Jesus & see that in their own life.  I need Jesus because I am a hot mess without him.  Because I am judgmental, I am not always kind, I have a hard time with fear, I have a hard time believing there’s goodness in this world when I see so much hate.  Truthfully I don’t know how I would survive the crisis of my life like cancer & betrayal & other things that I’ve experienced like infertility & abandonment without having someone to believe & something to believe in & something that is living & real.  That’s why I think people need Jesus because that’s why I need Jesus.  I think the world needs more consistency, the world needs more love, the world needs more comfort.  The world needs more grace & the world needs more joy.  And in relationship with Jesus there are all of those things & more.  

WHAT IS THE ONE THING ABOUT JEUSUS YOU WISH EVERYONE UNDERSTOOD OR KNEW ABOUT JESUS?

Beverly

Profession: House Wife

Years keeping it 100: 38 years

Bud

Profession: Architect’s Representative

Years keeping it 100: 44 years

WHO IS JESUS TO YOU?

Beverly:  Well today’s a special day, it’s the resurrection day of Jesus.  And Jesus is my savior.

Bud:  Jesus is the Son of God & he’s my savior.

HOW DID YOU BECOME CONVICTED JESUS IS THE REAL DEAL, THAT IS WHO HE SAID HE WAS?

Bud:  Well in 1973 I went to a Lay Witness Mission & that’s where I realized Jesus was my savior.  I went to an alter call at the end of the mission & acknowledged that.  

Beverly:  You know it’s at the same church.  I also went to an alter call later on with a different pastor & it was a Lay Witness Mission.  But actually now I have to tell this a little bit differently…the pastor the Sunday before had given his testimony & invited us to the alter if we wanted to come up.  So I went up to the alter on that Sunday when the congregation was there & I did kneel down & at that time those were tears of repentance.  But the pastor didn’t know any more than that, he just thought it was everything taken care of.  And then came the Lay Witness Mission that I had mentioned & when I told the people who had come up from New Jersey, it was Sunday night, that I had been to the alter & then they said to me “did you ask Jesus to come into your heart?”.  And I said “no”.  And so that’s when I asked Jesus to come into my heart, but to know that Jesus is the real deal, that’s taken years.  It’s taken time through so many different experiences when Jesus has come through, time after time & after time.  And that’s from the healings, & from the comfort, from the answers for prayer.  That’s how you know Jesus is the real deal.  And his grace, it’s the grace of Jesus.  

WHY DO PEOPLE NEED JESUS?

Beverly:  To be delivered from sin & death.  It’s that simple because the Lord is our redeemer, he is the Lamb of God & that’s the sacrifice that was made for us.  And that means we will have life, life abundant & life eternal when we believe in him.  To believe that Jesus is Lord.

Bud:  For salvation & the entrance into heaven.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING ABOUT JEUSUS YOU WISH EVERYONE UNDERSTOOD OR KNEW?

Bud:  That Jesus is the Son of God & that for entrance into heaven you have to believe that.  

Profession:  Educator

Years keeping it 100: 33 years

WHO IS JESUS TO YOU?

Jesus to me, he is the background noise.  He’s always there.  You say Alpha & Omega, big huge words, the beginning & the end.  But there’s also everything in between.  When you have the idea of who Jesus is, that’s great.  You can put a stamp on everything by that, but in the middle of everything, when you’re by yourself, when you’re in a crowd, when you’re out doing something you like to do or don’t like to do, there’s always that essence that’s there that has become more & more detectable as I’ve gotten older.  I’m not saying Jesus is this metaphysical, meta spiritual ghost thing, what I’m saying is Jesus has changed from a concept to a reality that’s always with me.  I have tried to walk away or shut that thing down, but there’s something real about what I’m feeling.  If I’m two minds about making a bad decision or a decision that may not be to my benefit, the reason why I’m two minds about it is not because I’m worried about a family member being disappointed or whatever, it’s like there’s something of substance that is with me, that really is there.  So Jesus to me is the in-between, the background.  You know it’s like the air you can’t see that’s real.  People say “the silence is deafening,” when you’re quiet you can hear the silence that’s kind of what Jesus is for to me because now it’s something that’s perpetually with me.  And that’s something that’s come up for me as I’ve gotten older in faith.  The ideas won’t take you that far, but when reality hits you, the reality will keep you much longer.  

HOW DID YOU BECOME CONVICTED JESUS IS THE REAL DEAL, THAT IS WHO HE SAID HE WAS?

Alright so, I remember when I was 19 or 20 I was at a church conference, really intense.  As far as feeling the presence of God, when you talk to people who go to church they say they feel something tangible to it & I felt that before.  You can call it a lot of different things, but there’s a certain sense you have.  I remember I was in college, we had a Monday night service & the next morning I went to class & I was still feeling what I felt at church.  It never had followed me out of church before & I was like “this is very weird” because I only associated that feeling when I was in church, in a service, with all the people with a mindset, everyone’s focused on what they’re doing as far as demonstrating their faith.  But now I’m by myself.  No one to hype up the crowd, no pastor, no music, no nothing.  In college, kind of tired, probably broke & hungry (‘cause that’s college life) & I was like “I still feel God.  Wow.  This is more than just an idea, this is real, something tangible.”  I can’t explain it to other people, but I know what I felt differently.  And from that point on I’ve learned to detect the presence of God in my life.  Both for good & for when I’m getting checked like “yah, you messed up.”  I started to hear that.  But it was more a tangible feeling.  I guess how you would tickle a child, but after a few years you need to talk to the child.  It was that kind of thing.  I felt that & that’s grown into discernment about just being detectable about things.  So that was something that really stuck in my mind as far as that goes.    

WHY DO PEOPLE NEED JESUS?

Why do people need Jesus?  I think because innately people know what’s right & wrong, but people don’t know how to really make right & wrong manifest.  They might have a steak of doing right, but then something always gets mixed up in the mix.  Take politics for example, which ideally the majority of our needs should be represented there, but it’s so infiltrated by corruption & bad attitudes.  You can’t mix good & bad.  So the need for Jesus is to provide the actual answers for the questions that we’re trying to do.  If we didn’t need Jesus then we’d have the answers ‘cause at no point in time in the last 15-20 years has the world not been connected, through technology, through what we have.  So it’s not about our connectivity, it’s more about what we are connecting & communicating with. As I look at it, you see the lack thereof.  We’re 60-70 years from nuclear warfare & that’s ancient technology compared with what we have now.  So what we have now, well that’s not even close & what keeps that together is such a paper thin treaty.  What is it?  It’s the lack thereof that causes us to have to do these things.  And I think we need Jesus because the lack of Jesus is so evident in the world nowadays.  People don’t know what to do for themselves.  They can’t get out of their own prisons, they can’t get out of their own mind, they don’t know how to have relationships.  Yet everyone wants to have a relationship, everyone wants to be healthy, everyone wants to see clean water & government & no pollution yet but what is it that is causing us to not have these things?  It’s the lack thereof of the key missing ingredient.  And so I think the evidence of us needing Jesus is the fact we don’t have Jesus represented where he needs to be represented, in the people he needs to be represented through & that is what’s causing the disconnect with what we want & how we’re trying to do it.  

WHAT IS THE ONE THING ABOUT JEUSUS YOU WISH EVERYONE UNDERSTOOD OR KNEW?

It sounds corny, but the one thing is I wish everyone knew is Jesus is real & not just an idea.  And Jesus does not need your help.  You need Jesus’ help.  Once you understand that, your ability to relate & your access to relation with Jesus, that’s the foundation of it.  Some people are like, “it’s a thing, it’s a prophet, a poetic thing, a historical figure,” instead of a tangible person, a reality you can live in & with.  And you definitely don’t need to make up something about him because Jesus doesn’t need your help.  He’s kool, he’s fine, he’s like “I’m good.”  Do you understand why he’s good?  Do you understand what he’s trying to do?  Do you understand that his purpose in life is so directly applicable to what you are trying to do & accomplish & the why of who you are?  If you understood that, it makes it more than just going to church & hearing someone else speak.  It becomes a whole dimension that is real & worth exploring & can really enhance your life without taking you from this life experience & depositing you into crazy world.  You don’t need to put on airs.  You need to recognize this is a real thing that has real results.  It’s not about belonging to a church, it’s more about belonging into a relationship.  And that’s really a knowledge, a understanding of what this is.  Why do I go to church?  Because I need to know more from God.  Who is God?  Who is Jesus?  Understand that.  Once you understand that then you start to have a relationship with that understanding & you realize it’s not just a concept, but it’s actually a person.  And then once you get involved with a person, you recognize there’s no limit to that.  It’s an endless journey.  That’s where transformation comes from, not just going to be part of a congregation or a group.  So that’s one thing I wish people understood.