If It’s Funnier Than It Is Wrong Do It…

The preceding statement was at one point a staple of how I lived my life. Now some years later, it is something that I want nothing to do with. I have been a witness to many a funny thing in my day – in no way am I myself claiming to have what someone might call a humor bone – things from the outbursts of an off the wall comment, to the fluorescent light battles that seem all to common in our cities back alleys. But what I have seen is the destruction of myself and my fellow comrades spiritual growth a different points in our walks through this very concept of humor.

My findings have been this; we as Christians seem to in an overall sense do quite well when it comes to living out our faith in public. We do not cuss, we are polite, we will even drop a five dollar bill into a buskers basket once and a while (I once saw a man playing buckets full of glass, and he was good, how can you not support that kind of talent?) and of course there is always a smile on our face. But follow that same Christian home, and over to his friends house for a party – were talking about Christians, so a party is the concept of hanging out in the same house where nobody has any idea of what to do prompting everyone watch a movie, probably a new one where everyone will fall asleep, missing any and all memorable moments – and things tend to shift. If you listen closely you will hear a certain familiarity come out, a certain comfort with the crowd.

In my own experience I have heard many a crass word, joke or conversation, most often within the group of my Christian friends. In fact I have seem a number of people get frustrated with the amount of personal attack, racial jokes, sexual discussions, and sarcasm. It’s as though we leave out faith at the door and let out everything we keep covered throughout the day. I kid you not I have walked into a setting where a group of males who were being trained to be evangelists were living; by the time I left that that building some 10 minutes later I had vomited on the road from the amount of homosexual talk and actions taking place. But if it’s funnier than it is wrong do it right? Of course there was a lot of ‘humorous’ shock value that brought this kind of awkward smile to our faces. Why is Jackass so popular? Shock value; where else would you see a man thrust a fish hook through his cheek and go fishing with himself as bait in shark infested waters?

I have also come across a number of people whom are either new to their faith or not well founded in their faith, who are lost on the idea of people acting like that. “I can’t tell them from my non-Christian friends,” “My friends who aren’t saved have better morals than my Christian friends.” It has even come to the point where I am finally hearing people questioning their faith on the very basis that they see people following other faiths or no faith at all, living better lives than their Christian friends. This is not an attack to say separate yourself from the world and circle the wagons as it were, but it is a call to plead with you to live your faith without compromise at every moment of your life. Again I’m only stating these thoughts out of frustration from my own life, my own experience to get a laugh – which even with shock value seemed to get me no further. Perhaps a book on humor… How can you be leading someone to the Lord one moment and the next moment be engaged in a mocking display of sinfulness? I plead with myself and those whose sarcasm leads them to a place of comfort in sin, to step up and live a life of no compromise, whether your in public or private, because either way God sees our actions.

I Think My Individualism Has Betrayed Me…

How often is it that we walk down a street as were window-shopping, glance in the mirror and secretly think to ourselves, “hey I look pretty good”? When we check out our attire we see that were sporting our own look, which no one else has modeled (yet), were living on our own in a nice apartment around the corner chalk full of the newest IKEA products. We also have a cell phone full of the numbers of all the people we have met on our extroverted excursions. It is a wonderful world living on our own, freedom to do what we please, and no one to tell us what to do. Although after living two years
This individualism transfers quite easily to our faith as well. We go to our local church and sing our songs that praise the Lord from the viewpoint of I, “I will worship you God, only you God” (Although I do notice a shift taking place). And while these things are not necessarily unacceptable things, because as many people can serve as examples, they live wonderful lives unto the Lord, I would suggest that there is more to be had. These same people can be seen on street corners preaching, homeless shelters handing out food, outside of certain movement protesting against something that they consider wrong. And what happens the majority of the time? We leave feeling better about ourselves having done something to fight against the social injustice that we are oppressed by. We, as in ourselves, and only ourselves.

This is where this idea of individualism that I have wholly embraced kills me; I cannot do it on my own. Now I know you are thinking that I’m about to tell you that we need God to do it for us – and we do – but my point is that we need each other. We do not need hundreds of millions of Christians each doing their own things – while they are still 3good things yes – but when we try to accomplish stomping out hunger in our cities on our own we can only do so much. Imagine if all the churches in a city gathered together in one voice to collectively tackle a problem, whatever it is, and imagine the impact form that. The Sr. Pastor of the Mars Hill church (not Rob Bell) in Grand Rapids approached his mayor and asked him what his church could do for the city because he had an army of 10 000 people longing to bless where they are needed. We need this kind of action in our world.

We are a body, and if each part of the body tried to be a body itself, we will do nothing except for immobilize this body, rendering it useless. God himself said that we could accomplish anything if we work together, read it in the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis; “Nothing will be impossible for them.” (NLT). We need to work together to stomp out issues and stand united against issue, but more importantly, for issues; instead of just throwing money at a problem, or only praying – again these are good but by themselves can be limiting - because faith without works is dead. Someone, somewhere has to be the answers to those prayers, so why not out ourselves in the position to be used to accomplish it? So get together, work together, lay down your selfish desires, and long to corporately live out your faith, and truly see change in your world – You’re not alone.

Even When It Hurts…

I long to be in control…of everything. I try and plan my life out to the most intricate detail, hoping and sometimes genuinely believing that things will work out as I had planned. My problem then lies with my innate ability to always ask the Lord to have His way in my life, and to do as He wills, because it is the thing I ultimately desire.

A tension perhaps?

My goodness it can be so frustrating to leave things in His hands, and it’s only frustrating because I obviously want things to be my way. It’s quite the challenge to trust him with everything. I find myself thinking about this or that often to the point of anxiety, and anxiety that that interrupts my sleep. I long to have the desires of my heart, I also long to know where He is guiding me, for Him to define and color in these passions that seem to be bursting at my rib cage.

Yet things don’t go as planned, they never seem to…ever. But in the midst of my struggle with control over my life you’ll find me with a smile on my face – (because for one thing I think I smile in my sleep but even more so) I’ve begun to learn that even when it hurts, the Lord is good. This seems to be my theme for this season I’m walking through, having many wonderful things cross my mind, and then realizing that it’s either not time yet, or never going to happen, or the Lord has other plans. But in the end that’s what I long for whatever He wants. Even if I have to cut out the passions that rage so widely inside my heart, or the dreams that I have to tranquilize just so I can take my next breath. Even if all that I desire has to be laid down and forgotten…He is still good.

It seems the song ‘Blesses be your name” never seems to escape being played in our churches, yet every time we sing it, it comes back to me with new and revived meaning…’when I’m found in the desert place, blessed be Your name’.

I love the Lord, with all I am, and even now as He asks me to lay down things I know He has placed in my heart I trust Him, because He is good, and He knows best…

Even when it hurts….really…really badly.

My Aging Regret...

So I think I think to much…case and point.

This past week at Veteran camp I had to walk through some very hard teachings. Things that dealt with very charismatic teachings, the ideas of ‘glory dust’, literal visits to heaven, 50k gems falling out of the sky; like I said, very complicated teachings if you haven’t grown up in these circles.

What I found myself thinking after being overwhelmed by such teaching, is what I learned in my first few days in Bible College, “Let God shape your theology, not the other way around.” I have never desired to be the person who doesn’t accept anything because I think it’s too easy to find a flaw in things and criticize them until I’m convinced of my position. But at the same time I do not desire to wholly accept everything that comes down the pipe, because as we all know that would be oh so foolish, because while I wish it weren’t this way, heresy is much too common. So I will wrestle with what took place, but I don’t wish to dwell on that for this post.

One thing that was brought up this past week was the idea of being like a child. It’s in the Bible where Jesus asks us to be like them, but what does that mean? When I think of a child, I see them wholly loving their father, as though he can do no wrong. “My dad could beat up your dad”, “My dad is superman”, “My dad can do anything.” They just want to be abandoned to their fathers will, spend time with him, listen to him talk and tell stories, go for walks. That child would do anything to be with their father. It continues in an all out trust, where the child believe that there can be no literal harm coming to them when they are resting within the arms of their pops. Think about it, can you remember a time when you were sacred and you ran down the hall screaming for your father to come and rescue you form whatever shadow was moving on the wall?

It’s so interesting to think about for my relationship with my Heavenly Father. How often do I have a completely abandoned trust to him? How often do I wish to be apart of his life, doing whatever He asks? I can remember my dad asking me to find him a hammer, and then racing to go find it because he asked me. I like to think of David when he was racing with complete abandoned toward Goliath, knowing full well that his Father was watching out for Him. David was safe in his Fathers arms. What about the time when Moses was on the shore of the Red Sea? Was he not completely consumed, entirely trusting and hoping that his Father would be there for him? I can just imagine being in that vulnerable position on the shore, eyes damp with tears, knowing full well that I needed Him, my Father to help me do this.

I long to be that child again. I want to be in a place where I don’t stop and analyze a situation three different ways before taking the first step. I want to be rushed with excitement the moment my Father asks me to do something for Him. I want to be completely secure in all His promises, wholly trusting anything that is from Him. Father, my cry is that I would be like a child, safe and joyful in Your arms, ready and willing to do all you require with me.

Let’s go for a walk…

Learning to Love Heartbreak…

This summer on the Admissions team for FGBC has been such a wonderful opportunity. I have been placed on a team with a lot of loving people, all whom share the same heart for the college. It has been exciting to watch each of us walk through our unique journeys and be there to help each other out during the times when it is deemed necessary.

The Lord is good seems to be the phrase on my heart for this season, He seems to be revealing to me how He provided for all my needs and more. It can be at time very humbling to watch as my Father takes care of my not only my needs but often my desires. I find myself in prayer more often than ever before because He has taken me to a place of intimacy where He is my strength, my source, my identity.

Very recently though I have been faced with a situation I would a first glance choose to avoid; heartbreak. This idea was shoved into my face a little while back when I was hit with the realization that I would have to leave this college someday. The shock was overwhelming as I thought and pondered all the opportunities and relationships I would be missing out on. It was oh so frustrating as I felt that the Lord was taking me away from those desires I know He placed in my heart.

Thankfully for me the confusion was there only a brief moment as I had wisdom placed before me by my father. “Greg, you put you heart into everything you do so when the Lord takes you away from the current place you are in it’s going to hurt. This is a good thing because it shows you care. But don’t dwell on the fact that your heart is broken and things are shifting and changing, dwell on the fact that the Lord is taking you into the even greater things He has planned for you.”

These words made sense to me and helped calmed my heart as it had began to race into the unknown. He’s in control and in order to move me into the next plans He has for me I’ll have to walk through that heartbreak. It’s a common theme in my life now that I have the perspective needed to view it. And even though it still hurts and brings floods to my eyes and aches to my heart, I’m blessed with the fact that this is a good thing, and that I’m being prepared for the next leg of my journey. This is how I’m learning to love heartbreak.

Well I Guess It Was Fathers Day...

I have been blessed to be home for this Father’s Day weekend and spend some time with my family in the midst of one of my closest friends weddings. During this weekend I encountered a lot of things; unconditional love, a desire to ride a bull, a desire to sell those bulls I ride, a desire to always be in the midst of community, and my unnatural ability to beat my brother Luke in a wrestling match.

But this Sunday is a day for Fathers. A day which unlike mothers day is often over looked. It’s a day committed to fathers, but so many of us have been left, abandoned or burned by our fathers can you really blame them for being slightly apathetic to the idea of celebrated this scarred sect of men?

Throughout my life I can remember days where I have really had an opportunity to sit back and reflect on the blessings the Lord has laid upon me, and today being like any other day was one of them. Today I was thankful, as I am everyday, for my Father.

Growing up I always felt I had to make my father proud, to prove myself for him by getting excellent grades, competing in sports, living a moral lifestyle, and doing things well. I can remember the moment like it was yesterday that my father, at a service at Street invaders when I was nineteen found me in the back of the service and told me he was proud of. “I’ve waited nineteen years to hear those words” I sobbed to him. My father for me is a man I am so proud to know and honored to share in his family. He never had a father to teach him the ways of fathering, so he is in some ways flying by the seat of his pants. I love the fact that he is learning on the fly and is not afraid to admit when he makes mistakes. I love that fact that his occupation, Executive Director of Apostolic youth Ministries, gives him the opportunity to be a father to so much more. I love that fact that he is always looking out for me, reads my blogs without letting me know, and prays for me on a daily basis.

I want to thank you, Lawrence Elwood Moore, for your constant input, leadership, guidance, support, and love in my life. I am truly honored to call myself your son, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life wearing that title proudly. You are a wonderful man of the Lord and if it wasn’t for your example day in and day out of how to live my life for the Lord, I would not be who I am in this moment, and I will not be who I become in the future, for our Fathers glory. Thanks dad.

Turning Point

These past years I have gone through quite a transformation. I feel comfortable in my own skin, so at home. It’s as though after all these years I have finally grasped what the Lord had planned for me, and I have embraced myself I suppose. These past few years the Lord showed me what He could do through me if I let Him take my fears, my insecurities, my hopes, my dreams, and my desires.

But it wasn’t always this way. I can very vividly remember growing up in my loving home, church, and community, watching people live their lives with all sorts of different intensity. I can recall going to Pembina gospel camp where the Lord ignited Himself within me, finally revealing to me that He was not the God of my Father, but He wanted to be my God. I can remember that day so clearly, because it was a huge turning point in my walk. After that week I have never looked back in my walk with the Lord. But at the same time I have not always looked forward. The following years were all ‘good’, I did ‘good’ things, didn’t get into too much trouble, and I lived my life the best I could for Him. But I again can remember walking the halls of my high school knowing I was called to be someone more confidant, more bold, more loving, more fearless. It was stirring within me and the opinions of people would keep that longing caged in as I watched myself live this ‘good’ life. In no way did I want to live this ‘good’ life, because there was so much more He had for me, but at the same time it was safe. That safety is something I held onto very tightly growing up. I created this huge archetype for who I am and lived within the safety of its walls. That was until He broke it down and called me out.

I can’t pin point when it happened, but it was more like a process, and now in this skin I feel alive. I feel as though I find my strength, my ability in Him. He is my every thought, my every breath. In discovering this and arriving at this place I have watched the Lord draw out that longing to be bold and fearless that laid dormant for so many years. I can’t recall how many times I had to tell people this year that I wasn’t always this outgoing and bold. They would seem shocked to learn that within the past few years I had walked into who I now am. It was as if what was driving me was no longer fear, but that it was love, mercy, grace, and thankfulness. I now love to dream - always did - but now I can believe those dreams to come true. Some days I feel as though nothing can stop me, because we are running together, and as I find my refuge in Him we will continue to turn the pages on this unfolding adventure. Yes I am still walking through this everyday, and in no way is everyday perfect. It’s a process but it’s oh so exciting to be apart of.

The reason I am writing about this today is I recently have been in conversation with someone who has walked through the same thing. They used to be timid and shy, and now you would call them a liar for even speaking the words. Something shifted in this person’s life when they had an encounter with the Lord, and if you were to meet this person you can tell something is different about them.

My thoughts are this; is this common thing to walk through? How many of us desire to embrace who we are made to be at any cost? Does fear hold us back and make us retreat to safety, chaining us to the mediocrity of our lives, while we always dream about how we could have gone further if only we could break these walls? Is this a common experience, or is it rare? Do many share this longing or is it only a rare experience. I feel as though I have done a 180. Paul’s life did a 180 when he encountered Christ, and in some ways I can relate with his story. I’m longing to know what you guys think, and I know this is going to take some honesty perhaps, but I genuinely desire to know, if there are more people out there waiting to embrace all He has for them.

Nathan's Praying...Again

So I am completely blessed today (along with every other day) the sun has returned from its slumber and is beckoning me to forget my responsibilities and entertain it. I won’t though, it’s destined to return again, and then we will embrace each other all the daylong when it does.

Today’s thoughts come from another experience of mine, this time it involves prayer. Throughout my life prayer has been something that the Lord has been walking me through, developing and teaching me, and in no way have I ‘figured it out’ but I have discovered something that begs a question. But first a little history from my end about prayer.

Last year I had the glorious opportunity to intern under AYMI a youth organization, with the internship stressing leadership. It was a life changing experience, as it seems everything is that I’m walking through these days. My roommate for the year was a one Nathan Densely, who challenged me with the concept of prayer as we lived in our dilapidated apartment in downtown Calgary, so close to a crack house we had to wipe the dust off our counters daily (facetious). What this man taught me all year was that there was power in prayer, something that I struggled to recognize earlier on in my life. I could always find him down on his face before the Lord as he cried out to Him at all hours of the night.

Well the Lord is beginning to walk me toward similar waters. I have this huge desire to fall deeper in love with Him, spend more time with and grow our relationship. What I’m finding is that when I pray, I often have real conversations with Him, as though I can see Him there with me, face to face. I use words that I use everyday, as if speaking to my father.

Now when I’m faced with the idea of a prayer meeting, I usually find it hard to be motivated because I am faced with what seems like a ritualistic type of prayer. I am put in a room with however many people and we will either pray what is on our hearts with our heads bowed and eyes closed or we will take turns in a circle. Please understand I am in no way complaining or attempting to view this type of prayer in a negative light. What I am doing is asking the question, where is that passionate prayer that brings me to my feet, and makes me yell with intensity? Where did the idea of this structured prayer, this very seemingly traditional prayer come from?

I have been to many different places in my brief existence and nothing is more motivating then when someone pours out their hearts to the Lord. I’m asking this because I myself do it. I can notice a distinct difference with my interaction with the Lord when I’m around my close co-workers, on my own or in a prayer meeting.

Do you have any thoughts on where this developed from, and perhaps your own experiences with the idea of praying, where your at with the idea, and how you go about doing it. I would love to have your input, because really I just want to know some different perspectives.

This Necessary Contraption

I was a part of a conversation the other night when us recruitment kids were discussing this current generation of young adults, and how they depend so heavily on the internet. Now coming from the city I do – Calgary – where WIFI is being installed on all the buses so you no longer have to wait that extra half an hour to check your email, I had discovered I had some thoughts on the subject.

Ever since I can remember I have been around the Internet. Well that is not exactly true, I do remember a time in my young life where I would hover around my fathers old prehistoric black and white Apple with the rest of the children in my Sunday school and play a game know as ‘The Ancient Art of War’ a terrible war simulation game that somehow entertained us for the few minutes after church had ended before we were rushed out of the building. But when I think about it, the Internet has been apart of our lives for just about 10 years. We’ve grown up with it and have watched it evolve from its plain past to the dizzying media display it currently entertains us with. Try and imagine for a moment what your life would be like without the Internet. There would be no more questions answered by a simple Google search. How many time have you wanted the answer to a question that was pecking at your mind, wandered over to your computer and within 10 minutes found relief to that nagging thought? There would be no more instant communication other than that of the telephone or the pen on paper. I’m sure this would be a benefit for some people, even myself in some ways, as the skills of letter writing would once again be widespread. But what you would not have is days spent messaging your friends from all over the globe, electronic mail transferring files and messages at all times in the day. You would not find the interesting images and movies from all over the globe about history, people, current event and the like. No up to date sports or news. But at the same time it would be much more difficult to stumble across the filth that is pornography and all sorts of other evils that plague the Internet.

Think about the places this contraption has taken us in the past and where it is taking us in the future. What would your life be like without the Internet? Would you be reading more books, watching more television, spending more time outside? Would you be the social butterfly you have become, would you have as many surface level friendships and with the same breath would you have as deep friendship so quickly? Would your relationship with that guy or girl be strained because of the difficult communication? We live in a day and age where we cannot help but be affected in some way by this giant that is the Internet. What would your life be like without it? And how can we harness this machine’s potential to develop our world and ourselves? A lot has changed in 10 quick years, imagine what you’ll be surfing in fifty.

Wal-Mart Special

With my time for writing seemingly disappearing during recruitment and the Stanley Cup playoffs, I have been tempted to fill this page with things that did not tweak my interest or heart for that matter. I have resisted and unbeknownst to me found myself getting side swiped of all places at Wal-Mart in Moose Jaw.

We were traveling around town looking for the big W, and after exploring its contents for a while were getting ready to leave. Before we left the female members of the team had to check one last section leaving Craig and myself to entertain ourselves. We heard a jingle coming from a box hanging off the shelf and decided to further investigate. Turns out it was one of those boxes full of nature sounds, work out music and classical hits, where you press the button and get a small sample of the musical treats inside. Craig played a song from Avril Lavigne, who lyrics spouted off, “she said see ya later boy, he wasn’t good enough for her…” Having heard this countless times before I thought nothing much of it until I replayed the lyric in my head prompting the question…who decides who is ‘good enough’ for another person?

I had a tough time thinking about it because I’ve thought it so many times before. I have noticed a developing relationship and thought that one person was not good enough for the other. Why was this? Well it was probably a judgment based on past choices or circumstances, current choices and lifestyles, personality, attitude, or any other number of things. I am sure many of us have considered these thoughts before but are they to be validated? Should we allow ourselves to categorize each other into classes, when we are all seen as equals in the eyes of Christ? To me it seems so odd, but it is almost like a pattern in life, where certain sections of people date certain sections of other people. I can have discussions where people will bring up the idea of having romantic feelings for someone but submitting them to the trash because that person sees there self as being unwilling to measure to the one having caught their eye or heart. I cannot seem to comprehend where this type of thinking developed, but I have to admit it has infected my thinking.

Another thought that came out of this thought was, without censoring my presumptions and judgments, why is it that certain people end up dating or marrying when one member of the party doesn’t seem to -for lack of a better term – measure up? In my very brief existence I have unfortunately run across a very common theme, where young women seem to be very self conscious and insecure of themselves. I wish it could be otherwise, but I have encountered so many deflating stories to believe it to be otherwise. Now what I have noticed is that a man may come into a young women’s life and make her feel beautiful and wonderful like the princess she is and was born to realize and they will fall in love. But I think to myself that person deserves ‘better’. Shame on me and my skewed views. Is it not my own selfishness that would wish for someone to be with someone else for MY own happiness? Or do I genuinely care for both individuals and want the best for both? It is a fine line that seems impossible to see and perhaps harder to walk. What I am learning is there are no rules to love, no prerequisites, perhaps just circumstance, maybe destiny, maybe a little bit of both. I know so little on the subject it is humbling, but I thought I would share this thought of self-discovery.

We need to treat brothers and sisters of Christ with love and respect. I can feel so convicted when I catch myself placing people in certain tiers of respect. If this type of judgment is wrong I pray the Lord redeem my thoughts and cleanse my heart of such selfish desires. I would love your insight into the subject of viewing peoples choices in a relationship, whether you think it justified or not, let me hear your views of this unpredictable dance.

And Beauty Killed The Beast...

The delay has been necessary, but to ‘Your Thoughts’ we move.

It was some time ago now – and this seems to be for a lot of things – that I watched a film that moved me in a way I never thought it would. It involved the wildest of characters, a 30-foot gorilla and the women he loved. It was so strange to see the interaction between the two, having this woman who so longingly wished to leave and be anywhere but with the ape. Yet as time progresses in the film the woman sees something, some sort of value in this beast and she becomes visibly attached. I was mesmerized as I watched these two beings being tangled in emotions as they spent more and more time together. The were playing on frozen lakes, making each other laugh, and then when the time came to be separated the two would do anything it took to be back together. They would scale large buildings, sell off relationships that have existed for years, they would ruin any public image they had built, and sell any benefit for the other. What was this driving force behind their actions? Why would a person sacrifice all of who they are for something they can’t control? I watched and was convinced of this apes love for this woman. As he fell to his doom I was crushed from his loss. It was as if I had witnessed something that was perhaps not rare in its existence but rare in its expression. I left that theatre with the warm sensation of something that I so desperately desired. What was it? Was it love? Was it what William Shakespeare so poetically portrayed in his scripts that so entwine our thoughts centuries later? If this longing is so strong in us all, why can’t we go to our local convince store and buy a bottle or package of it? Perhaps we try with our affairs, drugs, lies and rebellion, but it never works out. One thing I find so interesting about the hit television show ‘The OC’ is that the main parental role in the show demonstrates a functioning loving relationship. Perhaps part of the shows draw is this ‘rare’ relationship, this unknown example of love between two people. Why is it that this love seems to be so unknown yet so longed for? We watch films like ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and love the fact that things turn out in the end perhaps so unexpectantly. Why is it that in this college in the second semester we can look around and watch, as a number of individuals seem to have come across this love? What is it in us that so seemingly longs for this love? We are perfectly loved by our heavenly Father, but even He said man shouldn’t be alone. Why do we long for it, search for it, kill for it, sacrifice for it, desire it, flee from it, fear it, lose sleep over it. Something is missing in our world in a big way. I’m not saying it is not there but it is suppressed wherever it is. I have discovered in this small yet never regrettable existence of mine that if I feel like asking a question then someone else somewhere else is thinking of asking it too. Why are there so many poor examples of how to love someone and with that why is it so hard to find and keep it? I’m not the only one asking, this picture says so.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dearhajime/5963267/

Buck The Trend

I was recently watching a dramatic production, which incorporated bits of media, and on the screen flashed the question, “What makes great people great?” The question was posed as an interview to random people across the city where the movie was filmed. People listed money, circumstances, drive, power, family, and even God for reasons great people become great. I have never considered this before, and having been exposed to it I figured I would stop and dwell for a moment on the issue. What makes great people great? It is my personal belief that it has nothing to do necessarily with circumstances such as money specifically, but perhaps with recognition, or even circumstances such as loss, or trauma. I feel as though each one of us as people have the ability to become ‘Great”, but that greatness is only recognized within our own perspective of great. I would view the farmer who is obedient to God’s call and shares God’s love with the one person he was supposed to in his lifetime as an example of greatness. But these stories are so often missed, and replaced with the larger stories of greatness, such as those people whom fill stadiums of people all to come and hear their message of hope. I want to propose a change in perspective. Not a lessening in anyway of the term great, but a holistic recognition of what it was created to represent. To be great should be labeled to things, people and ideas./ that are truly great not just things worthy of making the news. Perhaps our elevation of the term great has kept it in a place so unreachable that we as humans have worn out in the struggle to grab it and make it our own. Greatness can be found in obedience, and in the struggle to do just that. Someone who can be considered great is someone who is willing to try, willing to fail also, but more importantly than both he is willing to try again. I find solace in the quote “Count it a blessing that you are such a failure, your second chance might never have come.”

With greatness now being defined, I hope we can notice that we can all become great. In a world filled with apathy, laziness, and self-fulfillment, all it takes is one person, perhaps you to buck the trend, grab hold of the reigns of your life and starting trying again. It is like the stories your teachers told when you were in school about not wasting your potential. Try to be obedient to the will of God, to what he has for you, to sacrifice your own pleasure for the betterment of His kingdom. Greatness is achievable, but only at a cost, a small cost or large depending on how you view your own ‘freedom’ but I beg of you to grab hold of your greatness we so often ignore and run. And when you fail, count it a blessing that you get just another opportunity to prove your greatness. Run, race and strive for all that you can be. Greatness is staring you in the eye asking you to pursue it. Don’t let yourself down. Buck the Trend.

But what do you think makes great people great?

Discover Your Cave

It is that time of year again when students all over the globe get ready for their summer vacation. Of course if you’re a college student your will be delivered much earlier then those in high school but inevitably you will both celebrate the summer together. But something shifts in the mind of those students whom have arrived at their last year of their structured lives of these schools or colleges; they become filled with anxiety. Somehow, this apprehension of the unknown grips our minds and will not let us go until perhaps this fall when we once again decide to travel down a new path of live.

I want to suggest seemingly simple solution, yet an extremely frustrating one for most; trust. Trust not yourself although I’m sure a lot of us are more than capable of deciding our destiny for the coming years. But trust Him, your heavenly Father who so longingly wants to guide you where you belong. Cling to his hands so tightly never letting go, putting all trust in Him. He promised to be with us always, so we have no need to fear. He will be with us, and I would even go so far as He is guiding us without our knowing.

You need rest inside the cave as the wind whips by the entrance. The world can look so rash, so chaotic, but inside the cave where you trust the Lord life seems so calm and peaceful, so right. Almost like the eye of a tornado. So take some time to look inside yourself and relax. Enjoy the mystery that the future so often is, and know that He has it all in his hands. You should make a home in the cave too, it looks as though a couch would fit well in that corner. So go on and smile, because your adventure is once again taking a new turn and who knows the places you’ll go, the lives you’ll touch, and the things you’ll see. All from the comfort of inside your cave.

Hero

The television was on tonight, as it usually is in my house, and I happened to hear the scenario that was taking place on the screen. A man was being asked to give up his life for the betterment of everyone else. Immediately I was enraptured with the situation. I was speaking with my brother about having to walk through the same circumstances. The man on the screen called his young daughter and told her good-bye. He was weeping as he hung up the phone. I cannot imagine what that would have been like. Saying goodbye to someone for the knowingly last time would break me on the inside in so many ways. When the man had achieved his task and was about to die all that was said to him was a meaningful “thank-you”. All that for the good of everyone else. Imagine the bonds he had just severed with his daughter, yet something greater caused him to walk through these doors as he consciously lived the last minutes of his life. There are so many directions I could run with this, I’ll only touch a couple:

- This to me was such a huge modern day example of Christ’s sacrifice for me. Not necessarily the suffering part, but the idea of knowing your going to die. I can just imagine Him in the Garden, thinking to Himself, “Here we go”. He knew those were His last moments and still He walked them proudly, for the greater good of all man. What a sacrifice. Thank you so much Father, yet please continue to show me more of Your character.
- I think of the man on TV, and the hero he would have been in the coming days. Yet we all have modern day hero’s, they drive around in cars with a poppy on their license plate. The Veterans. Yet how often do we brush of the sacrifice they made? They gave their lives for us, the same way the guy on TV did, and while they are given respect on their day every year are they not worth more than one day out of an entire year? I’m not saying we need parades but perhaps a common respect among people my age. How long does the bliss of being a hero last? In my experience it doesn’t go past 50 years before we move on. Please understand my gross generalizations, I know I’m doing it, but please I have no intention of offending you. I place everyone in the same room. If your not supposed to be in that room, don’t be.
- Would you do it? I mean be a hero and knowingly sacrifice your life, the very gift that God has given you, for the betterment of everyone else. Even if it would hurt? What if your family had to watch? What if it was for people you disagreed with, or even despised? Would you still do it?
- Why does the idea of sacrifice ring something so deep inside us? Why do we recognize what is taking place? Why do we mourn over the loss, yet weep over the excitement of new hope? Why do we have heroes? Do you long to be a hero?

I have no idea where I was going with all those thoughts, I’m sure I could write a page on each one of then, and maybe I will someday. I love the thought of the hero, and respect them to the nth most degree. But watching what was taking place on television really made me wonder why I honor them, why I long to be a hero. Were we born to be heroic? I’d love the thoughts swirling around in your mind.

Briefly...

Really quickly, I thought I would reveal to those who havent found my 'more personal' yet often just as cryptic blog, where to find it. Click on Seth's picture and then the link Breathing Easy, or go to http://breathingeasier.blogspot.com/.

Flat-lined

Have you ever experienced your heart forgetting to beat? Walking into a room and being so close to falling to your knees that you are overwhelmed? I know how you feel. It’s the same feeling that comes hand in hand with rolling over all night long while your trying to sleep. You have the same dream over and over while watching the minute hand of your watch slowly creep over those consecutive Roman numerals. You wish you were sleeping consistently but at the same time you love you the fact that somehow your managing to rest while being tied up in the constant duty of endless analysis. Being all consumed with something, someone, or some thought can be the most exciting place to be in the world depending on your state of mind. It can bring new opportunities, new adventures and new experiences. It is an exciting point in a person’s life. Hope gives birth to imagination and those stories can be the footing that a person runs on for years. Someone recently talked about imagination, I forget who it was. I think I might ask Walt Disney or C. S. Lewis, and see if they can tell me the directions home from Never Never Land.

The Joy of Losing

You’re devastated because your Olympic dream didn’t pan out, as you would have liked. Canada lost 2-0 to the Russians, and now your country won’t even get a chance to metal. Sounds harsh. You look like a mess though, as if your heart got torn in two. It hurts, I can tell by the expression on your face, and the tears that are soaked in your pillow. It will be all right though, time will pass and you will enter into another risk, where the joy of winning is euphoric, and the agony of defeat is almost unbearable. But think about it; if that agony weren’t always ready to overtake you, ready to pounce on you at every moment, then you would always win. You would always feel that joy, that elation that so many of us crave, and that my friend makes it entirely fake. It is essentially the risk of winning and losing that makes games and sports and other events fun to partake in. If there were no fear of losing, then the excitement would soon wither. I saw you on the table in the cafeteria where you were doomed in front of the President. Remember what he said? He said, “It’s true about these risks of winning and losing, and how what your going through now makes the joy you will experience latter all that more real and genuine, and the same thing applies to marriage.” You were baffled and I’m sure you still are, but I’ll let you chew on it for a bit. Could this risk so common in sports, be paralleled to the world of life and love. You think so. In fact, you know it.

Running on Empty

You feel drained hey? You feel like your being called upon over and over again with no room for anything else. Welcome to life I suppose. You need to learn to balance. You need to begin to manage your time with the utmost importance. Imagine for a moment the value of that moment of time. Next to the gift of life, I would see it as the single most valued piece of existence available. I remember when you were thinking of trying to add just two hours to your day. Just imagine having a day that contained 26 hours? What would you do with those precious additional moments? Would you take your time eating your dinner, to spend more quality time with your family? Would you write all those letters you promised to write so long ago? Perhaps you will finally clean your room that your roommate has been complaining so long about. Would you spend those two hours face down before the Lord, trying with all that is within you to meet Him, and grow your relationship? Perhaps you’ll spend your time snuggled in the warmth of your loved ones sweater, staying near that familiar sent just a little bit longer. Maybe you’ll spend those hours away at the mall, spending more time browsing the bargain department. Would you spend your hours in Never Never Land, choosing to dream for two hours longer having epic fantasies rolled out in your mind? It’s only two hours, but it would change your life. Here is the rub. You do not have those two extra hours. You never will. You are born with the equality that we humans all share. 24 hours. Do not worry though it is the same 24 hours as everyone else; Stephen Hawking’s, George Bush, Mother Theresa, Wayne Gretzky, your parents, your friends, and everyone else who is changing their world and yours. You have the same amount of time as they do. What will you do with your time? Make an impact.

Late But Not Too, Valentines

Hey, thanks for the Valentine. I can read it all over your face, your happy its Valentines day. Your looking around at all the reds pinks and white colors pasted all over this town you call home. You are watching the happy couples who seem even more lost in that blissful maze they call love. Is it not exciting to see the anticipation in the air? Imagine the thought life of a person who woke up expecting nothing. They saunter to their mailbox to see that little square piece of cardboard, screaming love in all its wonders. That small, seemingly insignificant, two dollar sheet with some obscure cartoon character on it, has the potential to bring a man to his knees in tears. Do not look at this day as a depressing moment on your journey of single hood. You need to see this day, and everyday, as a day that allows the opportunity to affect someone’s life for the better. Imagine the elation felt by someone that was not expecting a valentine, and you just happened to drop one of in their mailbox. It is just one day out of the year. But do not forget that you do not need just this day, but let it serve as a reminder for your whole year. Imagine the lives you will touch.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

I heard you felt like a spider. Funny thought, but don't worry, you should be excited about it. Although remember the life of a spider is a hard one. Especially the place your in. Your hanging while you propel slowly down your webbing onto who knows what, maybe nothing. Thing is there is going to be a drop. A drop of some significance is sure to ensue. You’re going to have to risk this drop, its inevitable. It’s because you have wandered too far on your own strength. And now you’re at a point in your life with all your eggs in one basket. That basket will break, and with that the string your life is hanging on. Don’t worry though, you’ll hit something, perhaps it will be the new freedom you’ve been looking for. Just remember it’s going to hurt. Immeasurable amounts, but He’ll be there through it all, even if it doesn’t feel that way. It’s worth it, because for new life you need to go through some sort of pain. Just ask those mothers birthing children you know that has to hurt. You’re going to new wonderful places. When the drop comes close your eyes, and relish the experience, because you’ve wasted a lot of time worrying about it. Leap. It will be great if you allow it to be. Jump little spider, jump.

Shifting

You can feel it can't you? You sit in your couch looking around for what's going on but you can't seem to locate it. You close your eyes, and try and hone in on what you now realize can't be seen. Nothing, except for a brief imagined blast of sound that you know yourself you made up. You can't see it or hear it, but you can feel it. Look around, what are all these people waiting for? The nighttime, the morning, mid-week? The next concert, birthday, assignment deadline, job interview, family vacation? Their waiting to live out their lives they way they were created to. You can feel it. The time is coming where your generation will be a witness to the speech they have begged for long to hear. Their own "I have a dream" or "we will fight on the beaches," motivating moment. Why when you heard these words in Coach Carter did you squirm because you thought that might be true..?

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Those words that pierce a being to the inmost place where we don't like to admit we have. It's coming. Look out the window, you said it yourself the trees seem a bit...shifted. Maybe ask around what others feel. Or don't, and let this pressure build until this bottle explodes, either way it's inevitable. It's coming, feel it...

Unsolved Mysteries

I was reminded today of a story that you were told last summer and never got the answer to. It was a speak where you were caught off guard so much in fact that you were left to digest the comments on your own. I take it you are still doing just that, but lets relive the story so we can dive into all that it provoked once again...

It was last summer you were sitting somewhere in the mountains listening to a speak where you were told the story of a husband questioning her wife. She asked him, "If you could go to heaven right now, this very instant would you?" Almost without hesitation the husband replied, "No, because I have a calling to fulfill that I've have been asked to fulfill." Satisfied the wife went back to what she was doing and rethought the question. Moved again she prompted her husband one more time asking, "Alright then, if there was no calling to fulfill, nothing that was required of you, and you could go to heaven right now, would you, because there is no expectation or obligation stopping you now?" The husband leaned back and pondered, seemingly lost in thought. In fact the wife was almost feeling uncomfortable with the long silence. Then the husband moved, leaned up and said the words she never expected, because as you know anyone asking that question usually have an idea as to the response they are about to receive in return. "No," he replied, causing he face to drop unexpectedly, and then she followed the question with her own quickly asking, "Why!" Calmly and seemingly very sure of himself, he responded, "This is the only time in my life, even stretching for all of eternity, that I can worship God in my brokenness."

You remember right? Because you were unsure at the time if this type of thinking was correct. And you still don't know for sure, but something inside you tingles when you hear that story again. The hope of living each day out like you'll never get it again, living each moment of your life, knowing full well that this stage of your life will be completely finished and you'll never return to this type of brokenness again. Is it wrong to think this way? Perhaps, but your the one who is moved to run after your Lord with all that you were created to be after hearing it are you not? Brokenness, here for only a brief time, and all though we strive to relieve ourselves of all it is and has created for us, can we not revel in that struggle, in that fight, that journey towards righteousness that we will only have in this portion of our seemingly fractured lives? You want to say yes, but its a mystery for now, and you don't seem to care if it stays that way either.

Marching Penguins

After going to rent the movie "millions" I returned not empty handed, but with the disc "March of the Penguins". After understanding that movie was not about penguins and the wild adventures they had in the spring, or a female penguin named March, we played the title, and here's what you thought...

At one point in the movie you saw how the penguins moved in a line together, walking slowly for 70 miles and you were baffled at how these winged creatures could walk for a week straight and not eat for over 120 days. What kind of animal is this, and you laughed and cried during the film, but there was one point that really caught your eye. Besides the freezing embryos or the sacrificed little baby birds, there was this one point if you recall correctly with this one penguin walking the frozen desert all by himself, with no one to lead him other than instinct, or perhaps the stars. He walked, inch by inch clinging only to hope and then after hearing Him speak you made the connection, how many of you humans are walking that same lonely path? How many of you humans wake up each morning and the only goal is to put one foot ahead of the other? But there's the hope that keep the bird or you going. There's that one thing, that idealistic thought that lets you continue to strive for the unknown relying only on the faith that you've birthed yourself. Kinda crazy hey?

Who would have thought that you be able to have a moment in the middle of a documentary with fowl words in the title? Baby steps, remember the penguin whose hope could not be stolen. You need to protect your hope the same way, or become a penguin.

Alpha

So against my better judgment I have once again added one more thing to my pallet - a blog - Going against all I fought for in this past year and some time I have caved, and decided to release the only thing that I had sacred, my one safety, the last barrier I had to the outside world: 'your thoughts'. Oddly enough as long as I can remember this writing jazz has been like therapy, almost as if for something so much as pride I was causing myself to suffer for so long keeping them chained up within me. Well onto the next era of my life, with 'your thoughts' laid bare before you I would ask that you tip-toe around them until I get this place cleaned up, and bare with me, as this journey you are reading is as much yours as it is mine. Now, lets get to discussing what your thinking...