How fun those words are to say, when everything goes our way.
It's a wonderful life. Yea I'm thinking of that Christmas classic movie, where a guy who thinks he had it all, suddenly finds himself with nothing, with everything he planned going horrible wrong, and suddenly he wishes he wasn't alive anymore. And then through a series of self-discovery, he finds how wonderful life really is, even with the bad. It's a wonderful life.
Ever tried saying that when everything is messed up, plans gone awry, hopes you had dashed to pieces? Have you, as the tears poured down your face, the pain pressed up and crushing you, still had the courage and faith to whisper..."It's a wonderful life."?
Horatio Spafford was such a man. After a sailing accident at sea where 4 of his daughters died, Spafford still found faith and courage to say "It's a wonderful life" by writing a famous hymn called "It is well with my Soul". He could have sank in to depression, he could have been angry with God, he could have done a million other things than write that song. I don't have children, so I can't even begin to imagine the pain of loosing four of his daughters at once. That's inspiring.
Another man had a similar kind of courage and faith, even as death was approaching in the form of a bitter betrayal by a close friend. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus' friend and disciple Judas Iscariot lead a group of soldiers to the garden in order to have him arrested and put to death. With a traitorous brotherly kiss from Judas, the soldiers lead Jesus away to be mocked, tried unfairly, and crucified by a cross which was a cruel Roman tradition for criminals at the time. Yet before all this happened, this is an excerpt of some of the words Jesus prayed while in the garden, knowing what approached. "Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
So many times I'll struggle when things don't go my way. And then I'll find after that crummy part, that there was something better that I didn't see, and God was with me the whole way.
My hope is, that I can hold onto that idea even through the dry-spells, and the rough times. Sure its not going to be a 'wonderful' part of life; but to have that attitude during that crummy time, and to be able to press into Jesus and find that 'It is well with my soul'...now that would be a truly wonderful life.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Tomorrow
Tomorrow begins a new day
A new life, a new way
And the question that I continue to say..
Will I ever be the same?
Tomorrow begins at the stroke of the bell
As it rings its tone the music begins to swell
And still I ponder; on this question I dwell:
Will I ever be the same?
Tomorrow begins with a happy twist
At the death of the old, and the beginning of bliss
Of a better way, my life to exist
Will I ever be the same?
Today has begun, unclear yet not alone
I wander at will and realizing, as life not grown
How much better today, than the past I have known...
I will never be the same.
J.B. Mitchell 2011
A new life, a new way
And the question that I continue to say..
Will I ever be the same?
Tomorrow begins at the stroke of the bell
As it rings its tone the music begins to swell
And still I ponder; on this question I dwell:
Will I ever be the same?
Tomorrow begins with a happy twist
At the death of the old, and the beginning of bliss
Of a better way, my life to exist
Will I ever be the same?
Today has begun, unclear yet not alone
I wander at will and realizing, as life not grown
How much better today, than the past I have known...
I will never be the same.
J.B. Mitchell 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Inexplicable Joy
What's it like?
It's like that feeling when you're standing with a glass of ice cold water on a day that is sweltering hot. Specifically its that feeling of the icy creep of cold that runs up your back and down your throat as you drink that cold water.
It's that feeling of falling a thousand and one feet with your breath taken away as you fall.
It's like watching two rambunctious puppy dogs play.
It's indescribable. You simply must, want to, cannot stop from exploding. Its like a dwarf star, blazing joy overtaking everyone and everything and lighting it on fire and joy as you pass on by. Its wild, its free, it consumes everything, its deep and long-lasting, eternal forever. Something that moves in the deep, and is heard in the heavens high.
Its inexplicable joy.
It's like that feeling when you're standing with a glass of ice cold water on a day that is sweltering hot. Specifically its that feeling of the icy creep of cold that runs up your back and down your throat as you drink that cold water.
It's that feeling of falling a thousand and one feet with your breath taken away as you fall.
It's like watching two rambunctious puppy dogs play.
It's indescribable. You simply must, want to, cannot stop from exploding. Its like a dwarf star, blazing joy overtaking everyone and everything and lighting it on fire and joy as you pass on by. Its wild, its free, it consumes everything, its deep and long-lasting, eternal forever. Something that moves in the deep, and is heard in the heavens high.
Its inexplicable joy.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Treasure Island
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." (Math 13:44)
That's dedication. It's a simple verse, but powerful in its implications. Here was a man, traveling along in life, and suddenly he spies a treasure, something beautiful, but its not his.
He could have walked on. Or he could have simply stood there watching it, until someone else passed by, noticed, and went and got it. Facepalm.
I've done that before; seen something worthwhile; something I truly wanted to have, and watched it from the road. And soon enough, it became found by someone else, or just disappeared, because I wouldn't do anything but sit there and watch. Treasure doesn't just come up to you and become found. One has to find it; and then one has to brave all the perils, or hardships, or whatever obstacle is in the way to get to it.
That's exactly what that man did; he sold all his possessions for this treasure, because he knew it was totally worth it. There was something in that field plot of land, that far outweighed any of the obstacles that he had to encounter, and he was determined to have it.
Its kinda cool, because if you think about it, Christ was like that man and the field. He saw something incredible valuable in us, so much so that He gave up His most precious possession...His life..in order to gain us! And He set the perfect example of what it means to truly pursue the real valuable important things in life.
Honestly I'm still learning too, but if you see something like treasure pop up in your life, don't sit or stand there watching it. Get up, and go after it with all your might and endurance; its worth it, even if you don't always succeed.
That's dedication. It's a simple verse, but powerful in its implications. Here was a man, traveling along in life, and suddenly he spies a treasure, something beautiful, but its not his.
He could have walked on. Or he could have simply stood there watching it, until someone else passed by, noticed, and went and got it. Facepalm.
I've done that before; seen something worthwhile; something I truly wanted to have, and watched it from the road. And soon enough, it became found by someone else, or just disappeared, because I wouldn't do anything but sit there and watch. Treasure doesn't just come up to you and become found. One has to find it; and then one has to brave all the perils, or hardships, or whatever obstacle is in the way to get to it.
That's exactly what that man did; he sold all his possessions for this treasure, because he knew it was totally worth it. There was something in that field plot of land, that far outweighed any of the obstacles that he had to encounter, and he was determined to have it.
Its kinda cool, because if you think about it, Christ was like that man and the field. He saw something incredible valuable in us, so much so that He gave up His most precious possession...His life..in order to gain us! And He set the perfect example of what it means to truly pursue the real valuable important things in life.
Honestly I'm still learning too, but if you see something like treasure pop up in your life, don't sit or stand there watching it. Get up, and go after it with all your might and endurance; its worth it, even if you don't always succeed.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Life is Beautiful
Got in a car accident the other night. I was just driving home from school. I was at a intersection and just had gotten the green arrow to go. Half-way into the turn I just barely saw car lights moving at me, and then a split second later I had spun around and slammed into my airbag which thankfully deployed, or that poor steering wheel would have been squashed.
All joking aside, it was really scary. I didn't know what the heck had happened, I didn't even have time to tense up for the impact or anything. One second I'm turning, next second I'm panicking, my leg is hurting and felt like it was bleeding. I was worried sick too about the other person who had hit me, as I was afraid they may have died from hitting me head on. And there was smoke coming out of my airbag (later found out that was normal) so I thought my van was going to explode or something. I wanted to get out out! And yet my leg was hurting, and (I thought) bleeding as well.
So here I was...thinking I'm trapped in a van about to explode and too afraid to move my leg in-case it was seriously broken or hurt. Oh and my glasses had flown off somewhere, so I was blind too. Totally helpless. I rolled my window down, and started to regain my mind and called my mom. And then a lady came over who had seen everything and calmed me down saying everything was ok and I was going to be fine.
Minutes after that the firemen where there, and the police. I found out the other people were in fact ok, and my leg was just scratched and felt heavily bruised. An hour and a half later I was home after going to the hospital to get checked up, and finding out that other than a bruised and sore leg, I was perfectly fine.
I know I should maybe wrap this up with something cliche about how life is fragile (and it is don't get me wrong), but I did have one thought through all this. When I was in the van, I was totally out of control. I couldn't move, for fear of my leg, and I didn't know if the other people were alive, and I was blind, and scared. But God was totally in control. I walked away from a near-head on collision at about 40mph with a totaled car and only a bruised leg, and the other people were fine and I was fine.
Some people would say I was lucky, I think not; things could have turned out so much worse. I could have died. I just think Jesus and I got a ways more on this earth to travel together before I come home with Him.
All joking aside, it was really scary. I didn't know what the heck had happened, I didn't even have time to tense up for the impact or anything. One second I'm turning, next second I'm panicking, my leg is hurting and felt like it was bleeding. I was worried sick too about the other person who had hit me, as I was afraid they may have died from hitting me head on. And there was smoke coming out of my airbag (later found out that was normal) so I thought my van was going to explode or something. I wanted to get out out! And yet my leg was hurting, and (I thought) bleeding as well.
So here I was...thinking I'm trapped in a van about to explode and too afraid to move my leg in-case it was seriously broken or hurt. Oh and my glasses had flown off somewhere, so I was blind too. Totally helpless. I rolled my window down, and started to regain my mind and called my mom. And then a lady came over who had seen everything and calmed me down saying everything was ok and I was going to be fine.
Minutes after that the firemen where there, and the police. I found out the other people were in fact ok, and my leg was just scratched and felt heavily bruised. An hour and a half later I was home after going to the hospital to get checked up, and finding out that other than a bruised and sore leg, I was perfectly fine.
I know I should maybe wrap this up with something cliche about how life is fragile (and it is don't get me wrong), but I did have one thought through all this. When I was in the van, I was totally out of control. I couldn't move, for fear of my leg, and I didn't know if the other people were alive, and I was blind, and scared. But God was totally in control. I walked away from a near-head on collision at about 40mph with a totaled car and only a bruised leg, and the other people were fine and I was fine.
Some people would say I was lucky, I think not; things could have turned out so much worse. I could have died. I just think Jesus and I got a ways more on this earth to travel together before I come home with Him.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
December
December is one of my favorite months; not only is it cold out, but usually there's snow on the ground too. And of course the merry season of Christmas is here, where it seems as if everything can't possibly go wrong, and hopes are hard to diminish.
I love the cold too. It reminds me of the vigour and zest of life; the frozen chilly air biting your face till it makes your eyes cry with the sheer breath of being alive. There's so much life and energy, and I'll walk out in the cold wind and just feel alive!
And then there are days when the cold makes me appreciate the warmth and comfort of home. Being inside, drinking some dark hot chocolate with cinnamon, and relaxing with my siblings. And life is still there outside in all its frosty aliveness, and deep on the inside I'm warm with happiness
I love the cold too. It reminds me of the vigour and zest of life; the frozen chilly air biting your face till it makes your eyes cry with the sheer breath of being alive. There's so much life and energy, and I'll walk out in the cold wind and just feel alive!
And then there are days when the cold makes me appreciate the warmth and comfort of home. Being inside, drinking some dark hot chocolate with cinnamon, and relaxing with my siblings. And life is still there outside in all its frosty aliveness, and deep on the inside I'm warm with happiness
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Poemism
You. You stand there. You wait, you wonder, you see with eyes unclouded. What is it that stops you? Why when you see that, which few or none can see, do you simply stand? Shouldn't you run, shouldn't you trip over yourself in haste to catch up. It's there for a moment, then gone; like the shooting star, crossing the vastness of the rich black space, only appears for the few precious seconds, and then its gone. Why did you wait? Why don't you reach for it? You think, I'm not tall enough to grasp into the heavens for something like that. Well why not try? So what if you miss? At least you tried! You grew, like the young budding sapling tree, you grew a little more in the sleepy ray of sunshine staring down from the sky, raining the fire of life into you. Suddenly, you see it again. What now? You've grown, try again! Why does failure keep you from trying? You cannot grasp the heavens like the strong mighty redwood in a single grasp. It takes time, it takes more fire, more life, more growth. A little closer to the sky each day. A little closer to the deep valleys of water far underground in the black, still caverns filled to the brim and silent with the afterthought of depth and beauty. Slowly, slowly you gain momentum; growing both ways, till you become that mighty towering redwood. And then what? The sky is not the limit, only the expanse of the infinite universe is! No more stars to pass you by and be gone; here in the black wildness of space you see the Nebulae, the dwarf star, the swirl of light so wild and untamed and what stops you now? You would let the past dictate the present? You wouldn't explore the beauty of the Nebula? Here you are, and you let the thoughts of when you were a sapling stop you? No longer are you in the dust, hiding in the shadows of those taller than you. You may not catch the Nebula, but you can try, and try again. You can grow more. You can always move forward and get lost in the space of eternity. What stops you I say? What are you waiting for?
Conformity or Sincerity
One of the more harder issues I encounter is a desire to conform and be accepted to the world. When your on the edge of the 'normal' world, its hard to not want to be 'in.' To desire for a moment where you're not worrying if you might have offended somebody, or wanting to be the popular one that everyone grins and hangs out with. To be simply normal and not raise eyebrows amongst the other cool people who are perfectly normal. No weirdness, no abnormal hobbies. Its hard, even now I feel it creeping around in the back of my head. I can't stand watching sports games/tv like "other normal" guys. I enjoy cooking..what other normal guy does? I'm not a football player or slightly masochistic and handsome like every other 'normal' guy. And the worst part is...often its a matter of simple anti-self perception. I may perceive that I'm unaccepted when in actuality I'm fine.
But conformity is boring. I find the times when I'm among a group, and I conform to their normal'ness and "blend" in, it leaves me afterwards feeling empty and shallow. I wasn't really myself, wasn't really shining in all the glory that God made me in. Kind of takes away from God's handiwork in a way when we are not ourselves and truly sincere.
We're all so beautifully unique, and there's so many of us!!! Its crazy to even comprehend how many unique snowflakes there are on this planet that are completely different and never the same in thought, speech and attitude and life! And if we're desiring to hide that? What's that saying to God? God designed me; I can like myself, and I shouldn't attempt to conform to a normal pattern of people's perceptions. It takes away from His design if I attempt to not be myself and instead try to be somebody else. I enjoy poetry, and God's given me a mind to grasp at it...should I stop writing because maybe some people perceive my poetry as too fanciful or 'girly'? Should I be the perception of the world? Makes me think of the song 'Somebody Else's Song' by LifeHouse.
I believe the answer is no; yes I'll never quite be acceptable to some people. A lot of people won't understand me, a lot may laugh and make fun of my taste and odd thoughts. Maybe I don't do everything normal adult males are 'suppose' to do. But I'm content being me, because I know God saw something in my design, and He put a little bit of Himself in me, and now I'm walking around in this world; a little piece of the brightness that every single wonderful person contributes in the world. I wish more people could see this; even the normal people aren't so normal; they all have a bit of uniqueness and to deny it and be a 'standard conformity' in the world is to dim the light.
We are 'fearfully and wonderfully made'. I think I admire my Father the most for summing up His own identity when Moses asked Him who He was? "I AM WHO I AM." God didn't say "hmm well, I'm a little like Baal, only less angry all the time. And I'm something like Asherah, but don't have anything to do with the pole worship." No, instead he firmly established his identity and went forth with it into a world in Egypt where the Pharaoh scoffed at God. I AM WHO I AM; all my strangeness, my uniqueness, the things about me you can't understand, or think funny; I AM WHO I AM.
I wish I could get to that point someday and say it with supreme confidence and zero hesitation that 'I am who I am', which is something awesome, and I don't need to second guess.
But conformity is boring. I find the times when I'm among a group, and I conform to their normal'ness and "blend" in, it leaves me afterwards feeling empty and shallow. I wasn't really myself, wasn't really shining in all the glory that God made me in. Kind of takes away from God's handiwork in a way when we are not ourselves and truly sincere.
We're all so beautifully unique, and there's so many of us!!! Its crazy to even comprehend how many unique snowflakes there are on this planet that are completely different and never the same in thought, speech and attitude and life! And if we're desiring to hide that? What's that saying to God? God designed me; I can like myself, and I shouldn't attempt to conform to a normal pattern of people's perceptions. It takes away from His design if I attempt to not be myself and instead try to be somebody else. I enjoy poetry, and God's given me a mind to grasp at it...should I stop writing because maybe some people perceive my poetry as too fanciful or 'girly'? Should I be the perception of the world? Makes me think of the song 'Somebody Else's Song' by LifeHouse.
I believe the answer is no; yes I'll never quite be acceptable to some people. A lot of people won't understand me, a lot may laugh and make fun of my taste and odd thoughts. Maybe I don't do everything normal adult males are 'suppose' to do. But I'm content being me, because I know God saw something in my design, and He put a little bit of Himself in me, and now I'm walking around in this world; a little piece of the brightness that every single wonderful person contributes in the world. I wish more people could see this; even the normal people aren't so normal; they all have a bit of uniqueness and to deny it and be a 'standard conformity' in the world is to dim the light.
We are 'fearfully and wonderfully made'. I think I admire my Father the most for summing up His own identity when Moses asked Him who He was? "I AM WHO I AM." God didn't say "hmm well, I'm a little like Baal, only less angry all the time. And I'm something like Asherah, but don't have anything to do with the pole worship." No, instead he firmly established his identity and went forth with it into a world in Egypt where the Pharaoh scoffed at God. I AM WHO I AM; all my strangeness, my uniqueness, the things about me you can't understand, or think funny; I AM WHO I AM.
I wish I could get to that point someday and say it with supreme confidence and zero hesitation that 'I am who I am', which is something awesome, and I don't need to second guess.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Knowing About Knowing
Ever wonder how friends are made? I guess there are a variety of ways; you have common interests, or you see each other often enough, or something draws you to a person. And through all that you suddenly become friends. What kind of friend you become to them, or they to you, depends on a factor called knowing!
Do you know about your friend? Like how they've played cello for 12 years, read the Wall street news all the time, and always have coffee in the morning before class or work? You know they go to church, like to go fishing for a hobby. Or that they like to go party, socialize, bars, whatever. And maybe you even go and do some of those activities with them. But do you know them?
Or do you just know about them?
Knowing someone is entirely different than knowing about them. Knowing implies a depth that goes beyond factual and shallow interaction. To know someone is to in someways become vulnerable to them, as well as they becoming vulnerable to you. It takes friendship to a new level that is far more exciting than the general humdrum.
When you know someone, you know what hurts them, you know what makes them truly laugh; you understand them mostly or partly. And you build into their lives by enriching them. It goes so much more beyond simply knowing about them, and doing the knowing about stuff with them...you know? Depth always reveals surprising things. One last thought to finish this off, which I find, amazing, mind-staggering and vastly interesting to think about....Jesus knows all of us already, intimately, and to the very depth of our soul. Do we know Him? Or simply about Him? Thought to ponder...
Do you know about your friend? Like how they've played cello for 12 years, read the Wall street news all the time, and always have coffee in the morning before class or work? You know they go to church, like to go fishing for a hobby. Or that they like to go party, socialize, bars, whatever. And maybe you even go and do some of those activities with them. But do you know them?
Or do you just know about them?
Knowing someone is entirely different than knowing about them. Knowing implies a depth that goes beyond factual and shallow interaction. To know someone is to in someways become vulnerable to them, as well as they becoming vulnerable to you. It takes friendship to a new level that is far more exciting than the general humdrum.
When you know someone, you know what hurts them, you know what makes them truly laugh; you understand them mostly or partly. And you build into their lives by enriching them. It goes so much more beyond simply knowing about them, and doing the knowing about stuff with them...you know? Depth always reveals surprising things. One last thought to finish this off, which I find, amazing, mind-staggering and vastly interesting to think about....Jesus knows all of us already, intimately, and to the very depth of our soul. Do we know Him? Or simply about Him? Thought to ponder...
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Actions speak louder than words...but words bring life to action
Action's speak louder than words. Most people have heard of that saying, and it is also a common theme found in the bible. And its not a bad saying at all; generally actions are louder than words, and who wants a 'talker' who doesn't do something.
I was thinking, if actions speak louder than words, then words must not be as useful or really important. And I think (at least I can say for me) that I've often felt that I can overlook words because the action matters the most and therein lays the most importance.
After puzzling some more, I came to this realization: Action's speak louder than words, but words give life to action. Without words, you can't really have action. Think about it!
-God spoke light into existence as the very first thing He did (Gen 1:3)
-In the very beginning there was the word, not action. (John 1:1)
-God also spoke before He acted. Look at all the miracles performed for the Israelites. Look at how Moses was appointed to speak for God (and in turned appointed Aaron to speak for him) to proclaim the plagues on Egypt.
-Jesus spoke first before doing. The one exception I can think of, was when the woman touched his garment and she was healed. However I'd note he was speaking to a crowd at the time; and also spoke to the woman afterward confirming her healing.
-The New and old testament have several verses speaking about guarding one's tongue and the power of words.
-The word was first before the end. The last thing Jesus did on the cross was to say "It is finished." then He died. He spoke first before He died. (John 19:30)
-The scrolls in the end times are written and spoken before they happen.
-The last 2 verse in the bible are spoken words. Which creates a sort of beautiful complete circle of the Word being there in the beginning and the end. (Rev 22:20-21)
Just my thoughts I thought were interesting. I'm not trying to say that doing actions is less important; rather that both words and actions are important, and neither one should be dismissed over the other.
I was thinking, if actions speak louder than words, then words must not be as useful or really important. And I think (at least I can say for me) that I've often felt that I can overlook words because the action matters the most and therein lays the most importance.
After puzzling some more, I came to this realization: Action's speak louder than words, but words give life to action. Without words, you can't really have action. Think about it!
-God spoke light into existence as the very first thing He did (Gen 1:3)
-In the very beginning there was the word, not action. (John 1:1)
-God also spoke before He acted. Look at all the miracles performed for the Israelites. Look at how Moses was appointed to speak for God (and in turned appointed Aaron to speak for him) to proclaim the plagues on Egypt.
-Jesus spoke first before doing. The one exception I can think of, was when the woman touched his garment and she was healed. However I'd note he was speaking to a crowd at the time; and also spoke to the woman afterward confirming her healing.
-The New and old testament have several verses speaking about guarding one's tongue and the power of words.
-The word was first before the end. The last thing Jesus did on the cross was to say "It is finished." then He died. He spoke first before He died. (John 19:30)
-The scrolls in the end times are written and spoken before they happen.
-The last 2 verse in the bible are spoken words. Which creates a sort of beautiful complete circle of the Word being there in the beginning and the end. (Rev 22:20-21)
Just my thoughts I thought were interesting. I'm not trying to say that doing actions is less important; rather that both words and actions are important, and neither one should be dismissed over the other.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Random thoughts
I saw a neat sight the other night; only in IL would weird weather like this happen. It was storming out, raining and lightning, and yet in the middle of the sky a large hole opened up in the storm (at night by the way) and went all the way to the sky where I could see the stars and the big dipper. Stars. Lightning. Rain. All at once? Amazing!
Last night, I was driving home from work around 11pm, and I saw that it had rained, and now the air was getting chilly, which made a thick rolling fog. So thick it obscured vision beyond 20 feet. I drove over this bridge on the road, where the land on either sides was sloped downward, and it felt like I was driving in some strange fantastical land far away from reality.
I recently re-read Eight Cousins, by Louisa Alcott. I like the book, despite its shortcomings, I think in some ways it was a little pretentious about a few things, but I mostly enjoy it for the story, I wish I had as many awesome boyish cousins like that. I also feel most closely associated with the cousin Mac, as he suffered from eye problems, is a bookworm, and generally oblivious sometimes to life around him. I remember reading this book for the first time about when I was 15, and I felt Mac's fear when he began to loose his eyesight after a stroke. Literature is amazing, the power of words, the gift of stories, and the relevance to which an author can relate to the reader even emotionally. A picture is worth a thousand words, but words...words can mobilize armies, rally nations, bring peace and growth.
Is it any wonder David prayed.. "Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.." Psalm 141:3
Last night, I was driving home from work around 11pm, and I saw that it had rained, and now the air was getting chilly, which made a thick rolling fog. So thick it obscured vision beyond 20 feet. I drove over this bridge on the road, where the land on either sides was sloped downward, and it felt like I was driving in some strange fantastical land far away from reality.
I recently re-read Eight Cousins, by Louisa Alcott. I like the book, despite its shortcomings, I think in some ways it was a little pretentious about a few things, but I mostly enjoy it for the story, I wish I had as many awesome boyish cousins like that. I also feel most closely associated with the cousin Mac, as he suffered from eye problems, is a bookworm, and generally oblivious sometimes to life around him. I remember reading this book for the first time about when I was 15, and I felt Mac's fear when he began to loose his eyesight after a stroke. Literature is amazing, the power of words, the gift of stories, and the relevance to which an author can relate to the reader even emotionally. A picture is worth a thousand words, but words...words can mobilize armies, rally nations, bring peace and growth.
Is it any wonder David prayed.. "Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.." Psalm 141:3
Friday, October 28, 2011
The Creator's creators
I sometimes wonder why it is so satisfying to create something new. And like always, I have a hypothesis, otherwise I wouldn't be tapping my fingers on the keyboard to write this up! So here goes...
I've pondered the verse where it says 'we were made after His image', (Gen 1:26-27); and thought about the possibilities. Certainly the verse implies that God put a LOT of thought and heart into us as His creations. I bet He really enjoyed it too! And I have a conjecture, that in making us, He put a little bit of His own expression into us. Kinda like how some musicians, artists, and other 'creator' types of people have their own distinct signature so to speak; their pictures and music and whatever has the original artist's own expressions put into it. "
This makes me think that we all have some little expression of God in our personalities, His little stamp of artistry. Kinda cool right? So in fitting that in with creation...
This is for all the people who like to create things. I love to create things; and I find a joy in finishing a creation that just makes me want to leap and yell into the air. Even if its as simple as a batch of cookies. There's something fun about it, adding the ingredients, taking the time to measure it correctly, experimenting with measurements of cocoa and flour to produce the right combination for a chocolate cookie; all the subtle details. And then when I'm finished and bite into the first warm cookie, I just want to go crazy and share them all with anyone who's nearby.
And you know what? I think that feeling that I have, isn't so alien to God. I mean...can you imagine how excited He must have been when He began forming the dust into our shape, pouring His loving thought into creating us. And then finally giving life and WHOA. Here's a talking chocolate cookie with free will! Not really, but seriously stop for a moment and think. I like to think God must have leaped and yelled and got really excited to share His new creation; which was us.
I think that's why as creator's, we love it when we get a fresh new idea, and feverishly we pour our being into it, until we run into a wall, or finish it. And when its finished...man gotta tell the whole world! I can't eat a whole batch of cookies by myself..got to share it.
That's what creator's do; create something beautiful, and then give it away.
"Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours." -C.S. Lewis
I've pondered the verse where it says 'we were made after His image', (Gen 1:26-27); and thought about the possibilities. Certainly the verse implies that God put a LOT of thought and heart into us as His creations. I bet He really enjoyed it too! And I have a conjecture, that in making us, He put a little bit of His own expression into us. Kinda like how some musicians, artists, and other 'creator' types of people have their own distinct signature so to speak; their pictures and music and whatever has the original artist's own expressions put into it. "
This makes me think that we all have some little expression of God in our personalities, His little stamp of artistry. Kinda cool right? So in fitting that in with creation...
This is for all the people who like to create things. I love to create things; and I find a joy in finishing a creation that just makes me want to leap and yell into the air. Even if its as simple as a batch of cookies. There's something fun about it, adding the ingredients, taking the time to measure it correctly, experimenting with measurements of cocoa and flour to produce the right combination for a chocolate cookie; all the subtle details. And then when I'm finished and bite into the first warm cookie, I just want to go crazy and share them all with anyone who's nearby.
And you know what? I think that feeling that I have, isn't so alien to God. I mean...can you imagine how excited He must have been when He began forming the dust into our shape, pouring His loving thought into creating us. And then finally giving life and WHOA. Here's a talking chocolate cookie with free will! Not really, but seriously stop for a moment and think. I like to think God must have leaped and yelled and got really excited to share His new creation; which was us.
I think that's why as creator's, we love it when we get a fresh new idea, and feverishly we pour our being into it, until we run into a wall, or finish it. And when its finished...man gotta tell the whole world! I can't eat a whole batch of cookies by myself..got to share it.
That's what creator's do; create something beautiful, and then give it away.
"Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours." -C.S. Lewis
Monday, October 24, 2011
One of the worst enemies you'll face...
Sephiroth? Barney? Darth Vader?
One of the worst enemies you'll face in life is yourself. Sounds surprising..but not really when you stop and think about it. I mean, consider how many times you've managed to talk YOURSELF out of doing something that might have been beneficial? How many times have you come down on yourself as a failure? When you've taken a especially hard blow by life...how many times have you been there for yourself?
You know, one of the worst parts about all this is, not only does it bring you down mentally and spiritually, but you can score vicious "critical hits" on yourself if you don't change yourself. Critical hits are when after telling yourself that your a failure repeatedly you begin to compound the repeated damage, and eventually it reaches a 'changing' point where you critic yourself and experience a point of compounded damage that really strips you away in hurt and pain. It can cause you to do things that aren't you.
Permit me to explain critical hits, its a bit of a game jargon. In this one computer game I play, there is this ability for a unit called "Critical strike" which is a passive/aggressive ability. Its set so that it has usually around 20% chance to score a vicious 2 or 4 times normal damage multiplier with every hit you land. The compounded hit does massive damage over time.
The same is true of you when you critic yourself badly. You pull yourself down enough over time and then the chance of hurting yourself becomes even greater. I speak from painful experience, I far too often forget to check my thought when I fail at something that "I'm a failure", because its just not true!
I find it interesting in the scripture (particularly in Romans) where Paul talks a lot about the old self vs the new, and how we must die to the old self and take on the new. I was listening to a Linkin Park song a few days ago called "Numb" and the lyrics really made me think of this old self vs new:
"I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes..
Every step that I take is another mistake to you.."
I..the REAL you, is tired of being what you (the old self) want me to be. Every step I take is another mistake to you (the old self). The chorus then bursts into what the real you is and needs to be saying to the old self:
"I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you"
I've become so numb! Old self, I'm becoming numb to you as Jesus fills me up. Its a tiring fight, but I'm becoming more aware, I'm becoming more like the real me, and less like the old you.
I know this is a rather unconventional way to explain, but this is just my thoughts. Take what you will from it; just watch out for yourself, when your caught in that failure and hurt, its not the failure itself you need to be worried about...its you.
One of the worst enemies you'll face in life is yourself. Sounds surprising..but not really when you stop and think about it. I mean, consider how many times you've managed to talk YOURSELF out of doing something that might have been beneficial? How many times have you come down on yourself as a failure? When you've taken a especially hard blow by life...how many times have you been there for yourself?
You know, one of the worst parts about all this is, not only does it bring you down mentally and spiritually, but you can score vicious "critical hits" on yourself if you don't change yourself. Critical hits are when after telling yourself that your a failure repeatedly you begin to compound the repeated damage, and eventually it reaches a 'changing' point where you critic yourself and experience a point of compounded damage that really strips you away in hurt and pain. It can cause you to do things that aren't you.
Permit me to explain critical hits, its a bit of a game jargon. In this one computer game I play, there is this ability for a unit called "Critical strike" which is a passive/aggressive ability. Its set so that it has usually around 20% chance to score a vicious 2 or 4 times normal damage multiplier with every hit you land. The compounded hit does massive damage over time.
The same is true of you when you critic yourself badly. You pull yourself down enough over time and then the chance of hurting yourself becomes even greater. I speak from painful experience, I far too often forget to check my thought when I fail at something that "I'm a failure", because its just not true!
I find it interesting in the scripture (particularly in Romans) where Paul talks a lot about the old self vs the new, and how we must die to the old self and take on the new. I was listening to a Linkin Park song a few days ago called "Numb" and the lyrics really made me think of this old self vs new:
"I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes..
Every step that I take is another mistake to you.."
I..the REAL you, is tired of being what you (the old self) want me to be. Every step I take is another mistake to you (the old self). The chorus then bursts into what the real you is and needs to be saying to the old self:
"I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you"
I've become so numb! Old self, I'm becoming numb to you as Jesus fills me up. Its a tiring fight, but I'm becoming more aware, I'm becoming more like the real me, and less like the old you.
I know this is a rather unconventional way to explain, but this is just my thoughts. Take what you will from it; just watch out for yourself, when your caught in that failure and hurt, its not the failure itself you need to be worried about...its you.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Essence of True Love
No, its not a bacon-mutton lettuce sandwich. Seeing how as I touched briefly on it in the last post, I thought I'd post my thoughts about about it.
Love, its a loaded word. There are 3 main forms of the word love in Greek, one is philo, another is eros, and the other is agape. Philo means roughly to love with a general, or friendly type of affection. Its the standard type of love, not entirely deep or strong. Eros is the passionate love, a love between lovers, or a love beyond the regular love of philo roughly. Agape stands as the unique type of love; it is unconditional love. Zero limits, zero boundries, it loves unconditionally and anywhere, anytime, it is all encompassing. It is with Agape love that Jesus loves us. Agape love is really deep and rich. Agape love is the heart of God; its the love that reaches out to the lonely, the hurt, and the fearful. Its what can move us beyond ourselves to help others who are in need. Agape love gives.
True love gives. Unconditionally. The thing about true love that I like the most, is that it lights up the soul of a person you love in a agape way. Suddenly, all those maybe annoyances you have with that person, or how you perceive them negatively, are washed away when you realize, man, this person just needs a little agape love. That annoying co-worker, maybe he's hurting.
I have a co-worker who's pretty annoying. Most everyone hates him at work, and he's really annoying. And I feel kind of bad now, because it occured to me a couple days ago, that maybe I should try and talk and love on him instead of joining in all the rest of my co-workers negativity. I feel kind of bad for the guy; sometimes the annoying co-worker is going through something in life alone, and no one can understand him, so they do what people generally do when they are faced with the unknown; they become hostile. The world needs agape love, I'm realizing this more and more as I grow; we have so much hate, and fear, and hostility going around; people are tough, and defensive. We all wanna be loved. (Yea, that's right...Dc Talk ref)
Agape love is also used in relationships. I wonder if our exceedingly high divorce rate in America might have anything to do with a lack of agape love in relationships? Just a thought, because I know, when you agape love someone that you also eros love; you are able to reach past the mask, and see with opened eyes and touch their soul in a way that no one else can. Its like touching beauty. Beauty, not pretty. I get annoyed with the English language sometimes, because some words loose their meaning; beauty and pretty ARE NOT the same or interchangeable. Pretty is outward. There's a pretty flower, or a pretty girl...but can you look at them and say they are beautiful? To say something is beautiful, it requires you look at it inwardly; past what normal eyes see. A rose may look pretty because of the rich color, the lovely scent, the softness of the petals; but I find that it is beautiful because of that AND that it has an amazingly complex structure or organized cells that keep it alive and flourishing, that it like many plants, takes in harmful carbon-dioxide and breathes out oxygen.
Its similar with people too. I can see that a girl is pretty, but when I know who she is, and what she believes and see deeper into her character, only then can I say that I see something beautiful. It is the same for anyone.
Most fortunately, God is not limited in agape love to having to get to know us first, since He already knows us! This is exciting, because it means God sees you as beautiful. Not just pretty, beautiful. And not just sometimes, but all the time, unconditionally, even if you hurt Him...He can see you as beautiful with unclosed eyes.
I'm rather tired, so that concludes my shambling thoughts
Love, its a loaded word. There are 3 main forms of the word love in Greek, one is philo, another is eros, and the other is agape. Philo means roughly to love with a general, or friendly type of affection. Its the standard type of love, not entirely deep or strong. Eros is the passionate love, a love between lovers, or a love beyond the regular love of philo roughly. Agape stands as the unique type of love; it is unconditional love. Zero limits, zero boundries, it loves unconditionally and anywhere, anytime, it is all encompassing. It is with Agape love that Jesus loves us. Agape love is really deep and rich. Agape love is the heart of God; its the love that reaches out to the lonely, the hurt, and the fearful. Its what can move us beyond ourselves to help others who are in need. Agape love gives.
True love gives. Unconditionally. The thing about true love that I like the most, is that it lights up the soul of a person you love in a agape way. Suddenly, all those maybe annoyances you have with that person, or how you perceive them negatively, are washed away when you realize, man, this person just needs a little agape love. That annoying co-worker, maybe he's hurting.
I have a co-worker who's pretty annoying. Most everyone hates him at work, and he's really annoying. And I feel kind of bad now, because it occured to me a couple days ago, that maybe I should try and talk and love on him instead of joining in all the rest of my co-workers negativity. I feel kind of bad for the guy; sometimes the annoying co-worker is going through something in life alone, and no one can understand him, so they do what people generally do when they are faced with the unknown; they become hostile. The world needs agape love, I'm realizing this more and more as I grow; we have so much hate, and fear, and hostility going around; people are tough, and defensive. We all wanna be loved. (Yea, that's right...Dc Talk ref)
Agape love is also used in relationships. I wonder if our exceedingly high divorce rate in America might have anything to do with a lack of agape love in relationships? Just a thought, because I know, when you agape love someone that you also eros love; you are able to reach past the mask, and see with opened eyes and touch their soul in a way that no one else can. Its like touching beauty. Beauty, not pretty. I get annoyed with the English language sometimes, because some words loose their meaning; beauty and pretty ARE NOT the same or interchangeable. Pretty is outward. There's a pretty flower, or a pretty girl...but can you look at them and say they are beautiful? To say something is beautiful, it requires you look at it inwardly; past what normal eyes see. A rose may look pretty because of the rich color, the lovely scent, the softness of the petals; but I find that it is beautiful because of that AND that it has an amazingly complex structure or organized cells that keep it alive and flourishing, that it like many plants, takes in harmful carbon-dioxide and breathes out oxygen.
Its similar with people too. I can see that a girl is pretty, but when I know who she is, and what she believes and see deeper into her character, only then can I say that I see something beautiful. It is the same for anyone.
Most fortunately, God is not limited in agape love to having to get to know us first, since He already knows us! This is exciting, because it means God sees you as beautiful. Not just pretty, beautiful. And not just sometimes, but all the time, unconditionally, even if you hurt Him...He can see you as beautiful with unclosed eyes.
I'm rather tired, so that concludes my shambling thoughts
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
What motivates You?
"Hey you, What you got here that's worth living for?" -Princess Bride.
I think about that a lot, more than ever lately. What motivates me to keep breathing each day? I know that sounds a little crazy, but for real, what keeps you going in life?
I continually struggle with this because I want something more out of life. Like a purpose. And not just any purpose, but one that's long-lasting, and fulfilling. But its hard at times to see what exactly my purpose is. And without a purpose you just derail. You start spiraling into a routine, walling up, or living the same boring thing over and over again till you feel like your stuck. Stuck in life, wondering when your day is going to come; wondering when things will get better. And wondering why the good moments never last.
I'm sort of in that place right now, trying hard to not fall into something normal. I can sort of see my calling, but its so fuzzy right now; and there are so many distractions. I work full-time, I go to school full-time. Most of my friends are too far away to hang out with. I work, sleep, eat, play video games, do school. And that's like all I do. I went to the bar the other night, and it was fun; but I've just been feeling stuck. Like there's nothing to do except work hard, do school, have some fun, and go to sleep.
I want more than that. Man I want to build communities. Video games are fun, school work is alright, work is fine. But where is my purpose? Is my purpose to play video games the rest of my life? To work the rest of my life? To achieve my degree and then what? I'm not dissing anything, but don't you ever feel like the normal way of things is sort of meaningless. Your slowly getting older and what are you doing with your life?
Bear with me, I know I'm complaining a little, but I'm also trying to get you thinking. There's more to life than this. 'We were meant to live for so much more...have we lost ourselves?' is a great question that Switchfoot asks. I've certainly lost myself before; fortunately I've found myself, but keeping myself in sight is hard! It would be so easy to just live the mediocre life. But I'd probably die from boredom.
I was talking with a co-worker the other day about retirement. I'm 23 and I'm already paying into a retirement fund, it feels really weird. I asked him if I should really pay into it, and he gave me a funny look and said of course I should. Told me what else would I do if I reached 62 and had no retirement fund? I kinda joked with him and told him that maybe I should aim to die at age 62. I have nothing against retirement funds, and I am continuing to pay into mine...but I mean seriously, if that's all I'm doing in life is trying to live long for myself, building up a retirement fund...I really should just aim to die at 62. There's no point in living with an attitude like that. Living for nothing is pointless.
So what are you living for? Its taken me a while, but I personally feel called to building communities with a Jesus focus, as I've mentioned. Ever since I discovered what community was like, I desire it for everyone. I wish I could make a giant family out of a town, you know. Having people care about each other and treating each other with respect, coming together. And drawing people to Jesus. Whats it I got that's worth living for? Its love, true love; love for people, desire to see them happy and fulfilled. Sometimes I just wish I could take all the crap and hurt and toss it out for a moment, and give the world a giant hug. I love people, I want to have God's heart for people too. There's a lot of hurt, abuse, misunderstanding, and loneliness in the world. And community can help people come together and be a catalyst for change, healing, bonding, and unity.
Can you imagine what our nation would look like if all the people were all giant close communities? We'd be a nation on steroids, an example to the world, and probably dealing with less of the bitterness and disunity that we see currently in the political parties.
I know I sort of rambled on; just my thoughts and all. If there's anything I really want you to take from all this its: 1. Don't live a normal life...there's so much more to life than entertainment and living alone. And 2. What are you living for? What keeps you going?
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
I think about that a lot, more than ever lately. What motivates me to keep breathing each day? I know that sounds a little crazy, but for real, what keeps you going in life?
I continually struggle with this because I want something more out of life. Like a purpose. And not just any purpose, but one that's long-lasting, and fulfilling. But its hard at times to see what exactly my purpose is. And without a purpose you just derail. You start spiraling into a routine, walling up, or living the same boring thing over and over again till you feel like your stuck. Stuck in life, wondering when your day is going to come; wondering when things will get better. And wondering why the good moments never last.
I'm sort of in that place right now, trying hard to not fall into something normal. I can sort of see my calling, but its so fuzzy right now; and there are so many distractions. I work full-time, I go to school full-time. Most of my friends are too far away to hang out with. I work, sleep, eat, play video games, do school. And that's like all I do. I went to the bar the other night, and it was fun; but I've just been feeling stuck. Like there's nothing to do except work hard, do school, have some fun, and go to sleep.
I want more than that. Man I want to build communities. Video games are fun, school work is alright, work is fine. But where is my purpose? Is my purpose to play video games the rest of my life? To work the rest of my life? To achieve my degree and then what? I'm not dissing anything, but don't you ever feel like the normal way of things is sort of meaningless. Your slowly getting older and what are you doing with your life?
Bear with me, I know I'm complaining a little, but I'm also trying to get you thinking. There's more to life than this. 'We were meant to live for so much more...have we lost ourselves?' is a great question that Switchfoot asks. I've certainly lost myself before; fortunately I've found myself, but keeping myself in sight is hard! It would be so easy to just live the mediocre life. But I'd probably die from boredom.
I was talking with a co-worker the other day about retirement. I'm 23 and I'm already paying into a retirement fund, it feels really weird. I asked him if I should really pay into it, and he gave me a funny look and said of course I should. Told me what else would I do if I reached 62 and had no retirement fund? I kinda joked with him and told him that maybe I should aim to die at age 62. I have nothing against retirement funds, and I am continuing to pay into mine...but I mean seriously, if that's all I'm doing in life is trying to live long for myself, building up a retirement fund...I really should just aim to die at 62. There's no point in living with an attitude like that. Living for nothing is pointless.
So what are you living for? Its taken me a while, but I personally feel called to building communities with a Jesus focus, as I've mentioned. Ever since I discovered what community was like, I desire it for everyone. I wish I could make a giant family out of a town, you know. Having people care about each other and treating each other with respect, coming together. And drawing people to Jesus. Whats it I got that's worth living for? Its love, true love; love for people, desire to see them happy and fulfilled. Sometimes I just wish I could take all the crap and hurt and toss it out for a moment, and give the world a giant hug. I love people, I want to have God's heart for people too. There's a lot of hurt, abuse, misunderstanding, and loneliness in the world. And community can help people come together and be a catalyst for change, healing, bonding, and unity.
Can you imagine what our nation would look like if all the people were all giant close communities? We'd be a nation on steroids, an example to the world, and probably dealing with less of the bitterness and disunity that we see currently in the political parties.
I know I sort of rambled on; just my thoughts and all. If there's anything I really want you to take from all this its: 1. Don't live a normal life...there's so much more to life than entertainment and living alone. And 2. What are you living for? What keeps you going?
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Sunday, October 16, 2011
I
I looked
I saw
I entered
Into a doorway resplendent in bloom
I laughed
I sang
I danced
Till fire came, my heart consumed
In sorrow
And ashes
I wept
Then another I saw, and to it I came
I ran
I stopped
I'm scared
Of encountering again, the searing flames
Unsure
I long
I'm numb
to the castle of fear I daily live in
I breathe
I break
I sigh
Wandering the hallway of hopeless oblivion
I must
Go on
I tear
Down the walls that rebuild themselves
I work
I wonder
I hope
That my door is worth all the effort and suffering
I saw
I entered
Into a doorway resplendent in bloom
I laughed
I sang
I danced
Till fire came, my heart consumed
In sorrow
And ashes
I wept
Then another I saw, and to it I came
I ran
I stopped
I'm scared
Of encountering again, the searing flames
Unsure
I long
I'm numb
to the castle of fear I daily live in
I breathe
I break
I sigh
Wandering the hallway of hopeless oblivion
I must
Go on
I tear
Down the walls that rebuild themselves
I work
I wonder
I hope
That my door is worth all the effort and suffering
Friday, October 14, 2011
Beautiful Reflections
So I was driving home from work tonight, rather tired, and alone in the car with my thoughts. And I noticed outside, it was rather bright for 8pm. And then as I got further into the country, I saw the nearly full moon, low in the eastern sky, brightly illuminating the dark cornfields with the beautiful waves of moonlight. Actually I started to think and the words 'reversed sunbeams' came to my mind. Because that's what the moonbeams are, just reflected sunbeams.
The moon on its own power has no true light. It is not a light source, if the sun isn't shining on it, it is blacker than black and not visible. However if the sun shines on it, it reflects the light of the sun into the dark world. Which reminded of the beautiful imagery of Christ.
As Christ followers, we have no power source of our own, but gain our light from the SON, in turn reflecting his brilliant sunbeams off ourselves and into the world in beautiful glorious moonbeams that illuminate and pierce the darkness, and make way for the return of the SON.
That's my thought, we're all a bunch of moons :-)
The moon on its own power has no true light. It is not a light source, if the sun isn't shining on it, it is blacker than black and not visible. However if the sun shines on it, it reflects the light of the sun into the dark world. Which reminded of the beautiful imagery of Christ.
As Christ followers, we have no power source of our own, but gain our light from the SON, in turn reflecting his brilliant sunbeams off ourselves and into the world in beautiful glorious moonbeams that illuminate and pierce the darkness, and make way for the return of the SON.
That's my thought, we're all a bunch of moons :-)
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Community vs. Isolation
Community is something dear to my heart. Ever since I discovered it a little more than a year ago, its opened up my eyes to how much I need it, and how much the world needs it too!
I've been mostly isolated a large part of my early life; I was the anti-social weirdo, and I could count all my friends on my hand.Community I didn't ever really understand, I had a few friends that could kind of connect with me, and I didn't really want to mess with anyone else. I was also scared; being around a lot of people is scary, and opening up yourself to people is scary.
But community is a catalyst for change! People need community, and not our highly selective communities that we form today, but real gritty community. Being part of a group where you can't "click offline". Being influenced by people and growing, bonding together as a group. And my favorite type of community? Yea, Jesus community!
Jesus community is very much needed; you get plugged into a sincere community hungry for Jesus and you'll not only grow socially, but spiritually. I got plugged into a community a year ago at a university. And it changed me, totally changed my outlook; ruined me for community. That's what Jesus community will do for you; it wrecked me to the point where I want to build communities where ever I go. I want people, especially the people who are not cool, who are isolated, I want them to get plugged in. Jesus community is INSPIRING! I can't tell you enough how passionate I am for community, and I don't know where its going to take me in this world; the roads still bumpy, but its going to be beautiful.
And my last thought is, you know not all Jesus community is perfect, that's life. But ALL sincere Jesus community is inspiring. And it can be a beautiful thing to pour yourself into it; to greet people and talk to them, to get to know them, to encourage them, to build and uplift them mentally and spiritually. To push them towards Jesus...that's what communities about! And in all that, we learn, we change, we grow, we bond, we love...we live LIFE.
I've been mostly isolated a large part of my early life; I was the anti-social weirdo, and I could count all my friends on my hand.Community I didn't ever really understand, I had a few friends that could kind of connect with me, and I didn't really want to mess with anyone else. I was also scared; being around a lot of people is scary, and opening up yourself to people is scary.
But community is a catalyst for change! People need community, and not our highly selective communities that we form today, but real gritty community. Being part of a group where you can't "click offline". Being influenced by people and growing, bonding together as a group. And my favorite type of community? Yea, Jesus community!
Jesus community is very much needed; you get plugged into a sincere community hungry for Jesus and you'll not only grow socially, but spiritually. I got plugged into a community a year ago at a university. And it changed me, totally changed my outlook; ruined me for community. That's what Jesus community will do for you; it wrecked me to the point where I want to build communities where ever I go. I want people, especially the people who are not cool, who are isolated, I want them to get plugged in. Jesus community is INSPIRING! I can't tell you enough how passionate I am for community, and I don't know where its going to take me in this world; the roads still bumpy, but its going to be beautiful.
And my last thought is, you know not all Jesus community is perfect, that's life. But ALL sincere Jesus community is inspiring. And it can be a beautiful thing to pour yourself into it; to greet people and talk to them, to get to know them, to encourage them, to build and uplift them mentally and spiritually. To push them towards Jesus...that's what communities about! And in all that, we learn, we change, we grow, we bond, we love...we live LIFE.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Heaven's Boredom or Hell's splendor?
It's that age old debate and wondering, I'm not talking about wondering if heaven or hell are real...that is an entirely different debate (although I believe they are real). And you might wonder at the title, but honestly that's what a lot of people think in a sense. Heaven's boring. You get a cute little halo above your head, you play a harp. You sing about God. And sing more about God. And more. And it gets old really fast with all that 'wonderful' stuff. It sounds so boring that people even joke about hell. See you in hell, we're gonna party down there, no stiffness or sucking up to God and singing to Him all the time.
Mark Twain wrote a short story (his last published short story ironically) called "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven." In this story Twain goes on to describe heaven in exactly how a disinterested part of society views it. Its vastly huge, with multiple races and billions of people in it. Easy to get lost, impersonal. Patriarch figures like Moses were said to 'be sighted only ever few thousand years by the commoners if you were lucky'. Talking or getting close to Jesus was unheard of. In short it was a very boring existence of living in perfection. You could do whatever you wanted to, but it was just...pointless.
People think that; what point is there living eternally with God? Will we have no purpose? Won't it get old? I mean after the millionth year of staring Jesus in the face won't that get old?
Well I have a theory, as well as a few verses that seem to indicate otherwise. First, the time concept of Eternity is hard to grasp for us. We live such short lives relatively, and the idea of living forever is almost beyond our comprehension. In 2 Corinthians 5: 1-5 it states we will receive new bodies. Weariness, all the negatives associated with the bodies we have now will be gone.
Secondly and importantly, I have this theory that God is so in love with us that He will blow us away for eternity while we are with Him. I mean this is God we're talking about, surely He can solve a minor problem of keeping our attention for eternity if He loves us so much to come die for us! Just check this verse out:
"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." Matthew 10:28-31"
You know I think we can sort of understand this in our limited sense. I think heaven is like that moment of eternity when you kiss someone you love for the first time. That moment drags on forever, and your never bored, its just the two of you, your scared, fulfilled, elated beyond words, trembling, and so full of joy and happiness and seriously that is what I think heaven will be like. That eternal moment when you first fall in love. That eternal moment as you play the masterpiece music of your soul's expression. We will be so utterly lost in love with God and each other, and He with us that we'll never notice or even have a definition of what time is anymore. We will be as we were always meant to be...fulfilled completely and continually, no empty void, no boredom. Complete with purpose.
I don't know about you, but I'm excited and I long for that day when 'heaven meets earth, in an unforeseen kiss...'
Mark Twain wrote a short story (his last published short story ironically) called "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven." In this story Twain goes on to describe heaven in exactly how a disinterested part of society views it. Its vastly huge, with multiple races and billions of people in it. Easy to get lost, impersonal. Patriarch figures like Moses were said to 'be sighted only ever few thousand years by the commoners if you were lucky'. Talking or getting close to Jesus was unheard of. In short it was a very boring existence of living in perfection. You could do whatever you wanted to, but it was just...pointless.
People think that; what point is there living eternally with God? Will we have no purpose? Won't it get old? I mean after the millionth year of staring Jesus in the face won't that get old?
Well I have a theory, as well as a few verses that seem to indicate otherwise. First, the time concept of Eternity is hard to grasp for us. We live such short lives relatively, and the idea of living forever is almost beyond our comprehension. In 2 Corinthians 5: 1-5 it states we will receive new bodies. Weariness, all the negatives associated with the bodies we have now will be gone.
Secondly and importantly, I have this theory that God is so in love with us that He will blow us away for eternity while we are with Him. I mean this is God we're talking about, surely He can solve a minor problem of keeping our attention for eternity if He loves us so much to come die for us! Just check this verse out:
"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." Matthew 10:28-31"
You know I think we can sort of understand this in our limited sense. I think heaven is like that moment of eternity when you kiss someone you love for the first time. That moment drags on forever, and your never bored, its just the two of you, your scared, fulfilled, elated beyond words, trembling, and so full of joy and happiness and seriously that is what I think heaven will be like. That eternal moment when you first fall in love. That eternal moment as you play the masterpiece music of your soul's expression. We will be so utterly lost in love with God and each other, and He with us that we'll never notice or even have a definition of what time is anymore. We will be as we were always meant to be...fulfilled completely and continually, no empty void, no boredom. Complete with purpose.
I don't know about you, but I'm excited and I long for that day when 'heaven meets earth, in an unforeseen kiss...'
New Blog
Never thought I'd get one, but I decided to finally. Might be nice to have a place to write and post a few thoughts
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