Just like the farmers
In James, the author (James) tells the twelve Jewish-Christian nations to “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (5: 7-8 ESV) (more…)
writers block? am i even considered a writer?
Today I attempted to write two blogs, neither of them came to fruition. I am trying too hard I think, I am trying to force myself to write something, when my mind is perfectly content with just thinking about things. I have tried to view this blog as a resource and tool for my ministry and a way to dialogue with people about topics, issues, concerns, and life. I have failed for the past few weeks on even coming up with an idea to spark a whole blog post.
So for now I am going to just accept that, as much as I don’t want to, I am. I want to write some blog posts that make me and others think hard about the things we do in life, but right now that just isn’t going to happen. Maybe this is because I was convicted by my sub-par writing of before, and want to make things better and just can’t satisfy my minds idea of what a good blog post should look like. Until I figure out this little dilemma expect nothing too great. I will at least try and post some good resources and such. I really hope thats not what my blog is coming too.
A change of pace (awful music reference)
Normally when I guest blog for friends I just post the same exact blog post here on my own blog. Well I realized that I’m being selfish and so I am starting a new trend. I’ll give you a little synopsis of what it is I posted but I won’t give you the whole article, only the link. I think we should all venture out and read other blogs, I love blogs and reading so I want to share with you some blogs I love to read and write for.
Our Healthy Desire is the blog I posted for this week. It’s great, really it is. My friend Bethany decided to create this blog about eating and the healthy choices we should be making but usually aren’t. It is a wonderful blog and I am honored to be asked to contribute. Anyways, my post is on our fastfood lives and how we are always wanting things to go because we are so busy. I really hope you enjoy this post! Follow the link below.
Name change
You might have noticed, or maybe you didnt, but I decided to change the title of this blog. You may be asking why, maybe not, but i’ll explain briefly why the sudden name change. Platform 1 was a great name, it meant a lot to me, but took a lot of explaining to people what it meant. The idea behind my blog is the same, however there is a new title. I hope you enjoy, there isn’t much of a change just a new title. If you were wondering what elucidation means, here is a definition from the New Oxford Dictionary (those of you who know me know I love to define things);
elucidate |iˈloōsiˌdāt|
verb [ trans. ]
make (something) clear; explain : work such as theirs will help to elucidate this matter
See note at clarify . : [with clause ] in what follows I shall try to elucidate what I believe the problems to be | [ intrans. ] they would not elucidate further.
DERIVATIVES
elucidation |iˌloōsiˈdā sh ən| |əˈlusəˈdeɪʃən| |iˈlusəˈdeɪʃən| |-ˈdeɪʃ(ə)n| noun
Silence and Solitude part 4 of 5
This is probably one of the more challenging and humbling of the parts. In this section we learn why we always tell ourselves no when it comes to silence and solitude, we learn what the real noise is in our life that prevent us from having great times of silence with God!
“This the fourth post in a series by Pastor Mark where he helpfully lays out the importance of silence and solitude, as well as how he approaches and utilizes the time.
Silence and Solitude Stealers
Despite the Bible’s exhortation and Jesus’ example to enjoy times of silence and solitude, few Christians regularly enjoy these gifts from God. This is because there are some real enemies at work that need to be combated for silence and solitude to be enjoyed. The following are some of the more common silence and solitude stealers that have to be dealt with as an act of repentance:
- Those people – pushy, needy, demanding, high-drama, inconsiderate people steal your life, joy, health, and time—often in the name of ministry, when it’s really people-pleasing idolatry that allows them to get away with it.
- Technology – you cannot be a maturing Christian following the example of Jesus Christ if you are always surfing the Internet, dinking around on your cell phone, reading emails, texting, tweeting, rocking out, and watching TV. You have to turn them off to tune in to God. Yes, I have all of the latest technology, and I turn it off so my soul can recharge. Do you really think Jesus would have been checking his buddy’s friend request in the Garden of Gethsemane if he had an iPhone?
- Lack of planning – in Leading On Empty, Wayne Cordeiro shows that in Genesis 1 when the Bible describes days, it says there was first evening then morning. So, biblically, the day begins at night with rest, Sabbath, and silence. That then prepares us for work and conversation. This is like Jesus, who spent time alone before beginning his public ministry.
- Trading busyness for fruitfulness – some people say they are too busy to worship, pray, Sabbath, journal, and so forth, but they have tragically traded being busy for being godly, obedient, and wise fruitful stewards. Is your busyness truly fruitful or would some plans to organize your world, home, diet, budget, schedule, and life be helpful?
- Lack of appreciation – the Bible has a great deal to say about the benefits of purposeful silence, including:
- hearing from God (1 Kings 19:11–13)
- waiting patiently for the Lord to act (Lam. 3:25–28)
- worshiping God (Hab. 2:20)
- knowing God better (Ps. 46:10)
- praying effectively (Luke 5:16)
My prayer is that those reading this who are guilty of people and noise addiction would experience the regular gifts of silence and solitude because that is often where God is waiting for us. There was silence before God spoke the world into existence, and silence for forty days before Jesus began his public ministry. May you too enjoy silence and solitude before you attempt to live your life with, for, like, and to God.”
My recent trip to the zoo..
This recent trip to the zoo was fun, it was great, i spent some wonderful time with my girlfriend and we had a grand time at the St Louis Art Museum, the Zoo, and then a nice dinner at Dressels Pub on Euclid street in the West End. I’m not blogging about my wonderful trip though, i want to just share the thoughts that i had while walking through the zoo, seeing all the animals and the kids and parents.
It was unbelievable to me, actually it was sad, i almost cried, i had to hold back my tears. It made me upset, the way that these animals were treated, the way that we have just turned them into a form of entertainment, just like buying a ticket to a movie, only it doesn’t cost us anything. I’m just amazed at how mindless we can be when viewing these animals, i am just as guilty of this as anyone else, i mean it was my idea to go to the zoo, i think God was pointing something out in my life on Saturday. These animals are reserved to a small space compared to their wild brothers and sisters. They are given food by hand, they are made the center of attention with thousands of eyes just staring at them day in day out. They are just trivialized to our liking, we dont think of there happiness, we dont think of their comfortablness, we dont think about anything that would make them more than just animals at a zoo, entertainment.
Maybe im the only one, maybe not, maybe you dont care, maybe you do, maybe you dont want to think about it because when you do it makes you sad, well it should. You shouldn’t be able to look at an animal that isn’t in its natural habitat and think, “man that elephant probably is loving life right now” if you do think that you are totally wrong, at least i can safely bet you are. Im just upset at the way we view them, the way we treat them in our minds, as entertainment, they are marvelous animals ,they are spectacular creatures that God has given us.
This is me just venting, but truly i say to you, i was upset, i was sad, it makes me feel for the animals, so maybe you will feel too the next time you visit the zoo, if you do, just think about how you are viewing those animals, are you looking at them as the next Steven Speilberg flick, something that you have a formula for, they are supposed to do tricks or growl or whatever, or are they God’s creatures who are beautiful and gifts that our eyes normally wouldn’t be able to see.
Oh how it feels to be a muggle…
All the hype around HP6 has really opened my ears to interesting conversations. I went to go and see HP6 at midnight on launch night, i will say that i was not too disappointed, knowing before hand 1) that there was going to be a lot of the 500+ paged book left out and 2) that Dumbeldore dies. Hope that didn’t ruin anything for anybody, if so, just know your not the first person i ruined the movie for. Like i said, i found myself in between many interesting conversations, and after thinking about them for a little while i realized the common themes in them, and then related those themes to one overarching ideal that people would speak about. Being a wizard, being able to do magic and make doors open without turning our wrists too much, and how can i make this stick in my hand light up a whole room at night. Don’t get me wrong, i also gave my two cents on the issue, and when i really let my imagination go, i could see images of myself flying on a broom paint a mural in my dreams. However, i woke up the next morning and realized, im just a muggle. But thats not so bad is it?
Doctors want us to live forever, but do we really want to…
Yes, thats right, there has been a substance found in the soil of Easter Island that has made the life expectancy rate of mice to increase tremendously, so now they think, and want, to tweak it for humans. This is not something that is new to our species, we have been trying to figure out how to live for 900 years again ever since God sent the flood in the OT and dropped our life expectancy down to the number its at now which is late 80’s. So why the hype and concern now you ask, well as technology continues to develop and our minds expand with the knowledge needed to help us try and reach eternal living, we need to start really thinking about this. No really, we should sit down and think about it, what are the benefits of living forever?
What are some positive “upsides” to living forever? Let me see, oh i can celebrate my 1,000 birthday on the newly inhabitable planet of Zingronon, I will be able to fly a car around the world, i could travel the galaxy on a 100 year adventure, i would be able to pretty much accomplish and graduate from college as many times as i wanted, majoring in every available major at every available college and university in the world, i could spend my life with my “life” partner, i mean a commitment is a commitment, no matter how long it is, i would be able to see many World Cups, and hopefully one day be able to say that America truely does love soccer, that might be pushing it though. Lots of “upsides” to being able to live forever.
Now lets think of the negative sides. I am a Christian, therefore my beliefs stem around the idea of heaven, well if i never died and lived forever, i would more than likely never make it to heaven, until Christ came again (i should have put that as an upside to living forever, being able to see Christ come again on earth). I might get bored of my life on earth if i am living forever, escaping death, year in and year out, maybe by my 200th birthday i would be tired of everything. The world would soon be over populated. Let us think this one through carefully. No one dies. We still have babies. Our population is already out of control, but when we stop making room for the young ones, we will become even more over populated. Being crowded leads to anxiety, anxiety leads to anger, anger leads to violence (most of the time), violence leads to lots of bad things like rebellion. Rebellion leads to 1984, do i need to elaborate any more? So those are some of the downsides.
Let me be honest, some people may really want to live forever, some people may want to try and live until they see Christ come for the second time, but the problem with that argument is that no one knows when that is, only God, and He’s not telling. So i would rather die when i am supposed to and go home, to Christ, out of this world that is full of suffering and evil and into a sinless world with my father in heaven. But until the day that i am supposed to die, i will continue to spread Christ’s word and fight through my struggles, and i surely will be saying no, when the so called ‘miracle drug’ comes out and we are trying to pro long our stay in this pit stop to heaven.
Why i dont like the word weird
I have never really been a big fan of the word weird, the strange thing about the word is that i would use it almost regularly. However, lately i have had a change in heart and thought. Lets think through this one a little bit starting with the definition.
weird |wi(ə)rd|
adjective
suggesting something supernatural; uncanny : the weird crying of a seal.
• informal very strange; bizarre : a weird coincidence | all sorts of weird and wonderful characters.
• archaic connected with fate.
That comes from the American Oxford dictionary. Strange, bizarre, that is the way the word should be used, when we see something that we believe is supernatural. But, we tend to use the word a little more with a harsher meaning. For instance, we see someone who is doing something that is different to us, something we do not see on a regular basis, but is everyday to them, and we qualify it as ‘weird’. Or we hear something that is strange, unusual to us, but very usual and not so strange to someone else and we say that it is ‘weird’. What i am getting at is that it seems like we tend to shut ourselves off from situations, objects, lifestyles, and things that are different and/or outside of our everyday encounters, just labeling them as ‘weird’. A side note real fast, i am included in these thoughts, i think everyone is included in these thoughts. Why can’t we just open our minds a little bit, and see things as different, unique, abstract, not for me as opposed to ‘weird’.
The word just carries a lot of baggage with it, that i do not believe it is always appropriate to use the word ‘weird’. Yes, there is a time and place to use ‘weird’, but we shouldn’t use it all the time we see something different. Just think about what you are labeling ‘weird’ and ask yourself if it is really supernatural, or if its just a little different, or abstract.
’69 vs. ’09, who wins?
I found this image on the web not to long ago and really liked it, mainly becasue some of the things they talk about on the ’69 side are pretty neat or just funny. Have a gander. Just shows how the times have really changed, i cant wait to have a comparison of ’09 to 2049, thats weird to think about but also cool to think about what the future holds.
Who said being a student was easy?
Tell me what is going on here, please!
So i look at the image above and one thing comes to my mind, yeah being a student is easy, look at all the stuff we have to put up with and do, just to get a degree. Ask your parents (or parents just think) you once paid $200 for tuition and really that was about it, you didn’t have much else, a place to live, maybe a car, probably a bike, no cell phone, no mp3 player, probably lucky to have a TV in your house or apartment. Man fellow students that sounds terrible doesn’t it? Well i would disagree, that sounds great to me, sometimes i wonder why i am so tired at night and so reluctant to get out of bed in the morning, i think this image just sums it up for me. We are so overwhelmed with “stuff” that we don’t know what to do with ourselves anymore, our bodies and minds are still behind the curve.
Its not like we could just go to school and not own a cell phone or a computer, you wouldn’t get by, you wouldn’t be able to network, or do school work. We are forced by our culture to have cell phones, computers, cars, TVs, DVD players we are forced to eat out everyday (well that might be a stretch, but i could argue it!). I mean i knew it was tough being a student in these times, and its going to be harder for students entering college in the next few years (i am sorry folks, its true). Historically school has never gotten cheaper, its just growing, every year, and as the image points out, we have a lot to deal with. So what can we take away from this rant, and this image? Well how about we show this to our next employers and show them how we multitasked four years of our lives, handled a budget over $20,000 a year, made good decisions, made bad decisions (shows we are humans), and still managed to get a degree while doing it. Just the fact that we graduated college should speak books of information about us, just look at the chart above, if it is true, college students have it hard, trust me i know.
The world as we KNEW it
That is a huge difference.
Yeah catchy huh, as we KNEW it. Things are changing, not really for the better either, and I’m not talking about the economy, even though i easily could be. I am talking about our planet, our precise, beautiful, God gifted planet that some of us call home, others of us call it a resource, a resource for doing what we want with no repercussions. I was reading Andy Pattons blog post on Why Christians Should Care for Creation, and then the next site i jumped too was “Lake Mead is Drying Up”. Looks like we really are caring for God’s creation, and doing a good job of it too. Brilliant, one of the largest water reservoirs in our country, that helps supply power to over half a million homes, irrigates farms in southern US and Mexico and holds a supply of up to 9.3 trillion gallons of God’s gift of water, is at 46% capacity. That is a failing grade, by a lot. What are we doing, we are taking, taking, taking from God’s creation and giving what back? Las Vegas? You have to be kidding me, i know this sounds more like a rant and it probably is, because i am just a communication major i don’t know how to fix this problem, but believe me i wish i did. Andy said something that stuck out to me in his blog, God has made a system, not a collection of isolated objects that do not influence one another. To care for the what he has made you must begin to see those connections” (2009, Patton). He is so right here, if we fail to see our relation and connection to this problem, then according to scientist and math genius’ we will FEEL our connection to this come 2021 (which smart people have put a 50-50 chance the lake will be dried up by then).
We need to act, not just on this situation, but on lots of other situations. It’s funny, i am one of those people who usually realizes their is a problem but has no idea how to fix it or approach it, i am just good at finding the problems in things. Here is the first thing we can do however, pray. God has gifted us with all these beautiful creations on Earth, including a reservoir that holds more water than i will drink in my life time. I dont want to see Lake Mead dry up and im sure you dont either, so we need to start caring for God’s creation a little more.
TED talks are always funny
This guy has got some great quotes, i know we like to learn from Christians, and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing but really learning from atheists and agnostics can be just as helpful. Watch this video and try and take something from him, he brings up some good points, and its almost hard not to see God working through him. Well i couldn’t get the embedded video in here its too long but follow the link.
Pigs in a blanket
Pork Power
So its more like swine flu in the media, I don’t know if that even makes sense, but while here at Mizzou i have been studying the media. I know its a joke major, blah blah blah, but I have been picking up on why everyone (including myself for a time) has been so freaked out about the swine flu outbreak. Don’t get me wrong its terrible that over 150 people have died in Mexico and one case in the US, but really the past few days have been littered with swine flu news, and its all the same! Even ESPN had the swine flu on its daily broadcast of Sportscenter, I mean the media controls our lives and this is a perfect example. We cant get away from the media, think about it, I am sitting on my computer connected to the internet with unlimited amounts of news resources, my phone even gives me news updates, the radio, the TV, im sure I am missing some medium. Its made it too all of those, the reason why everyone is freaking out, is because the media is freaking out. I found this interactive website on CNN that is tracking the cases of swine flu, so you can see how close its getting to you!
I mean really people, 150 deaths in Mexico, I know it has to start somewhere and they have some legitimate concerns but lets think, why make a wide spread panic now? So lets go run in the streets and screen at the top of our lungs because this is the next 100 million persons death pandemic, wait don’t do that you might catch the flu! But in all seriousness though pay attention to it, but be discerning. Well that’s my rant, hope you enjoy, and remember cover your mouth!
My story about Memorial
I have told a lot of peole that i know that i have some weird habits as a person, well now everyone is going to know. I like to make up stories about people or things or places that i dont know much about. For instance i was walking by a girl who was listening to her iPod, this is the story my head created;
“This girl, about 5 foot 7 inches was listening to her new mission on how to infiltrate the University of Missouri system, learn all their secrets on how they operate and what make them so grand, and report back to base at KU”
Then she passed me.
So now knowing this you can understand why i instantly thought to make up a short story about why the power went out last night in Memorial North. Im sure the real answer is so simple, but just think about this,
“The sound of a watch alarm interrupts the stagnant air surrounding Keith, he looks down, clock reads 5:03 p.m. perfect timing. Once his gloved fingers relieve the air of consistent beeping, the motionless, noiseless atmosphere returned. Keith makes his way down the back corridor, he let himself in with the help of an unconscious Starbucks employee on a trash run, it was key to come in the back, it is always key to come in the back. Keith made his way through the tight beige colored hallways that made up the back rooms of the Bistro and Starbucks. Keith knew his way around here, not because he had previously worked here, but because it was his job to know these things. Keith was a professional, Keith was The Specialist. There was almost no sound coming from Keith and all his equipment, its an amazing sight, there is never any sound that comes from Keith, just his watch. Again the atmosphere rings of monotone beeps, it must be 5:05 now, time is racing by. The end of the corridor approaches.
“Now left” I whispered under my breath
“shhh” Keith turned quickly around to motion to me to keep quite.
This was my first time, I had heard that Keith was a specialist at these sorts of things, but what I didn’t know was how precise he was. We continued to the end of the corridor and turned left, there it was, hidden from view of everyday pedestrians, if those silly college students only knew that it was placed in such an obvious spot. As we approached the target Keith slowed down, his strides became very long and methodical; his body only moved slightly with every step he took, I wondered if I looked quite as competent as he did at this moment. We were there, another alarm sounded, this one Keith turned off quickly. 5:15 I thought. Almost time. Keith reached for the box, it was dull, not how I imagined it, the corners were scrapped free of paint, and the rust colored metal was trying to escape from various points on the box. The red coded number read 1.12358. My heart started racing, I could feel the sweat under my arms building up, my breathing got heavy.
“Calm down Rachel” Keith must have noticed to, but he couldn’t know, he had no idea.
“Sorry, Keith, im still getting used to this”
Keith turned to continue, his fingers brushing the box his gaze fixed upon the glowing numbers. The electrical box to our right was the next step, I must trip the power, but only moments before Keith opens the box or else all the training, the months of training will have gone to waste.
“Ready?” I asked
“Go” He replied, his gaze now fixed on my hands as I slipped a razor blade out of my pocket. Red cord, then blue cord. Red cord, then blue cord. This wasn’t hard just had to remember the order. I gently opened the box, as if any movement that I made might alarm people we are here. First the red cord, now I cut the blue cord. It was done. The power had gone out, the lights were out now we only had seconds. I only had a second. Time slowed down as my brained thought quickly, very quickly. Keith’s body hit the floor with a thud. I was a specialist too; I had a job to do too. It was complete. Now I am The Specialist”
Ok so please don’t make fun of me, i just like to think of things this way. Please enjoy.
When knowing enough is enough
So in our lives there are instances when we want to push an issue, or talk about something till our tongue goes dry, or mess with somebody, or just discuss an important topic. Those times are great in themselves, those conversations can be great, those times can be fun, but sometimes, more times than not, we push the envelope too far. We cross the line more times than we know, i can probably count on four hands how many times i have done that, and i can count on one hand how many bridges i have burned. It’s unfortunate, and i wonder sometimes if there have been measures i could have taken then that would change my actions or words during those times. Well luckily for me there are a few things you can do to avoid crossing that line.
First, and probably most importantly, take yourself out of the situation and ask, “would this make me mad?” “Would i agree with this?” “how would i feel about this?”. Questions like this can really help dictate wheter what you are doing is appropriate or too far.
Secondly, think of the relationship you have with that person, is it one you cherish or is it one that you have so you can take and play around with and manipulate it so you can have fun at the expense of others.
Lastly, make sure the person or group you are encountering has a sense of humor and can take a joke. Most people can, some however really don’t like these types of situations.
This is something that i want to be more conscience about in my life and something i really need to work on, so maybe you can journey with me. This may turn out to be good, or just a waste of your time, but i know one thing is for sure, sometimes when you just step over that line, its going to hurt more than just yourself!
Today is a wonderful day
So as many of you know today is the infamous and largely popular, Earth Day. Well i guess if you didn’t know it was Earth day then now you do! Today marks the day that we celebrate our wonderful planet and everything it has given us and we have taken away from it. And boy what a beautiful day here in Columbia today to celebrate this great holiday. Recently at work i was talking with a friend telling her that starting this Wednesday (today) i was going to try and find a holiday or something special about each day to celebrate. How funny that today is actually something legit, i thought i would get a lot of non-legit holidays!
Earth day seems so cool, such a great cause. Why not celebrate something we are destroying, and try and knock some sense into the human species. I mean i love nature, im sure that nature doesn’t love me though. Think of all the nasty things we have done, as individuals to this blessing God has given us. We drive in our cars that create large holes in the atmosphere, we liter and through trash on the streets which spoil the natural beauty, we dump chemicals from washing our new cars in the ground that kill grass and insects, these are just a few amongst many. Anyways, lets try, even if its for one day, to be conscience of our planet, and what we are doing to it on a daily basis. Hope this was a good rant, probably not though.
Heres my 50 cents…
So i was just meandering around the Internetand trying to figure out what to write about, or just trying to find something to read that would interest me. Guess what i came across that really made me want to write, Louis CK’s interview with Conan, I’m sure you all have seen it and laughed at it. He is good at making people laugh, last time i checked he gets paid to do that, so i hope he is good at it. I am not trying to take anything away from Mr. Louis here because i think that he is on to something. I will pause here and let you watch the video if you have not yet.
So after watching that i am sure you wet your pants with laughter. I know i did the first time i have watched it. Just take the example of the flying from New York to California, he does a good job at delivering the comedy by making some little jokes in between the meat of the statement. I mean really think about the last you did something amazing? Here is an example, did you send an email to someone, or to multiple someones. If you did, did you get mad or irritated when the ‘loading’ symbol popped up and it took fifteen seconds for it to send? I know i have been mad at my computer multiple times.
Or lets take this phenomenon that CNN decided to write about today on their webpage. The article is titled Moisture, cold irritate some smart phones talks about how some users of the new smart phones like the iPhone and Blackberry line complain about, in my mind some very small issues. Here is a small clip from the article,
“From the iPhone’s sensitivity to water and the inability to use the touch screen while wearing gloves, to complaints about the size of Blackberry keys and the responsiveness of its operating system, some smart phone owners are peeved by what they view as less than intelligent design”
So now we have decided to complain about the size of the keys, the fact that I cant text with gloves on (which if i am honest i have thought about once or twice with my iPhone) and the fact that God forbid if we shower and leave it on the counter next to us it will probably have moisture problems. Who would have thought?
So if i sound a little cynical its because well i guess i am. I really haven’t stepped back before and thought about all the amazing things that i can do at the push of a button, or the tap of a screen in the iPhone’s case. I can send and receive emails, i can call anyone at anytime, i can listen to music, i can listen to Dave’s latest sermon, i can read a CNN article, i can update my Twitter, i can even check the Kansas City Royals starting line up and then score later on all from my phone. What is there to complain about? Oh how about the amount of time it takes me to pull it out of my pocket, man we need to invent something to speed that process up.
So here is where my 50 cents comes in to play, i want to challenge everyone to just think about all the wonderful things we can do. This device of mass communication that i am using right now, the ability for you to receive this and read it, if you want to go home, guess what you can, it takes me 2 hours at max when it might have taken a couple of days not too long ago! The world we live in is full of God blessed amazing things. Dennis Haack once said that if you are too busy to step back and view how marvelousthings are around you, you are too busy. I think this might be our problem today, we are too busy to realize how great things like flying, or driving or blogging, or surfing the Internet really are. I don’t know, maybe this didn’t make sense to you, but it makes perfect sense to me. If you see me complain about something, slap me, please, maybe ill wake up.
The days, they are a changing…
Do you ever read something that just has you wanting to shout out loud “ARE YOU KIDDING ME” or “WHAT ARE PEOPLE THINKING”? The sad part is i might read something like that every morning, whether it be in the Missourian, The Guardian, or like this time Cnn. I was paroozing the on-line reading material for today when i stumbled upon an article that i could not just help but reading titled Out of Wedlock births hit record high. Really? Are you kidding me? What are people thinking? Those are some of the more appropriate questions that are running through my head right now, i just can not believe what i am reading. Honestly i tried to read the whole thing and i haven’t made it yet, i will for the sake of this blog but i just had to write about it, and my feelings. OK here we go.
First i want to say i hope that no girl takes offense to this, i don’t mean to offend anyone but i really hope to make them think about the decisions they are making or might make in the future, it could really hurt if you do not think about it. So the article says that there were 1.7 million out of wedlock births last year. Sound small, well in comparison to only 4.3 million births all year its not, oh yeah by the way it jumped 25% from the previous 5 years. That number means that nearly 40% of babies born last year, were born into unwed couples. So naturally along with this statistic the stat for teenage pregnancy’s also went up, after it had been declining for 14 years! Some problems or issues they might face, well according to Sarah Brown the CEO of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, these families will soon face poverty, high school dropouts, divorce, and possibly child abuse. Sounds like a picture perfect image of a family to me.
So where do we go from here, what do we do for help, i mean we are called to help and encourage our friends and family to make good decisions. Why are these things happening, how can we give realistic options to these couples or people who think it necessary to have a child out of wedlock? Well my only answer, at the moment is for prayer. It would be nearly impossible for each one of us to go around and tell people to stop having kids out of wedlock because God said so, or to walk around giving out free condoms with Bible verses on them, i just don’t think those are the answers we need. I am distraught, i am angry, i am worried, the first thing prayer that needs to be said is for those who might encounter something like this, how do you be a good friend but at the same time tell them you don’t approve of what they have done? That is hard, Jesus told us above all else to love our neighbors as ourselves, what does that mean in this situation? As you can tell i have more questions than i do answers, but that to me is life, and Christianity. If i had all the answers then i would be the one above that everybody is praying too, i just simply have a finite brain that can not produce the answers. So here are my words of encouragement to those struggling somehow with this phenomenon, pray, dive into God’s word, read about God’s Grace and remember what he has done for us already, and what he plans to do!
Anyways, i hope this raises some eyebrows, i more or less just needed to get that off my chest, that article bothered me if you couldn’t tell.
Well what took so long
So i have been pretty inconsistent so far with my blogging, the fact of the matter is i just was really busy for the past couple of weeks, but man do i have a lot of life experiences to share now. Let us think of what happened since the last time i blogged;
I went to L’Abri for spring break, what an experience. I went with Patrick, Glenn and Victoria and met Tamara and others up there. It was wonderful, what a great place and plot of land they have up there. I studied a little about the Emerging/Emergent Church and some of its implications, i would love to talk to anyone who knows anything or wants to simply chat about it. Jock and Larry were wonderful, they helped us along in our studies as well in our work time. We witnessed Jock wielding a chainsaw in order to cut down a tree, that just screams man at me. Anyways that was a great time.
I went to Paul David Tripps marriage conference, which was amazing. He has a way with words, they just move you, and you kind of have to be aware that sometimes whatever he will say you will take as true, its just weird. That conference was great fun and got me in touch with a new author who has some really good things to speak about.
Then this passed weekend i went to Philly, the home of the Phillies… Yeah so that was a lot of fun, had an amazing Philly chessesteak sandwich from Steves, The Prince of cheesesteak. I wish i had one of those right now! We went and saw the Rocky steps, Old City, downtown, Society Hill, Ben Franklin stuff, the Liberty Bell, the building that Nicolas Cage ran on in National Treasure 4.2, it was a good time all around. I was with friends i hadn’t seen in almost a year so that was also super exciting. It was a great trip, oh yeah the place that i stayed and slept in was called Manayunk and it was amazing! It was like young professional artsy, specialty shops and restaurants no big named anything. It was great. I went to Paul Tripps church on Sunday downtown which was an experience. It was great.
What a great little town
So that was my life, you are caught up, i will try and blog a little more consistently. Boom! Oh yeah its Royals season baybay!
A Weekend in Review, thinking about True/False films
A weekend in review, thinking about True/False films – March 3rd-11th, 2009
Ok so if you don’t know me or haven’t heard yet I love films. I had a previous post where I talked about film, videos and movies and how much I appreciate them and the glory that can be shown through this medium. So if you didn’t know about this in my life, well now you do. The True/False Film Festival is a showcase for some of the best documentaries made in the past year or so made by directors from all over the world. So, what I am getting at is that this past weekend was a real blast and really eye opening as far as films come. Some of my friends recently have even criticized me for being too into the festival and really enjoying it, so I will say to them, is that this is a big deal to me! The festival really opened my eyes to some issues that I was otherwise completely oblivious too. For instance in the film Waltz With Bashir they tackled the issue of post-war memory loss or problems. Now this is not something that I had ever really sat down and thought about, but now makes me really think and aware of this interesting and sad problem.
First up are the fellows from Glastonbury Connecticut a small suburban town just south east from Hartford. The town itself seems very “normal” and very suburbanize and very east coast. Well in comes the group called Dub-G, a “gang” if you will that likes to impersonate the things they see on the hit show “jackass”. Dub-G says that the destruction and mayhem they cause is their anti-drug, which in theory is a good thing, but their theory doesn’t work. I do not want to ruin any of these films for you but this film develops not only as a story of kids who finally get in trouble for their actions but inside their minds, and why do they act this way. The story takes a turn when one of our characters gets caught jumping into a tree in the middle of a mall (which seems to be the thing to do, really?). After this we see the challenges these kids start to go threw with school, the police, and their parents not to mention their peers. This is an interesting film about how society works and reacts to certain medias.
So I originally sat down to write this post on specific films but realized after doing just one that was a tall order. All of the films that I saw or that I heard friend’s talk about or read about were good in one way or another. I think that this festival has become something that Columbia cannot do with out. I say this for a few reasons. First being that Columbia really is perfect for housing this festival and this festival is perfect for being housed in Columbia. The flagship university of the state is located here which should naturally bring the brightest students and faculty from around the state to school here, allowing for challenging and interesting mediums to be displayed to those students knowing they will give some sort of intelligent feedback. Since Ragtag is located here in Columbia it makes since to bring in a festival that will just bring some hype around the films that are being shown there on a weekly basis.
It is hard to describe just how great the feeling of attending this amazing event really is. I sit here now, more than a week and half removed from the event still finding myself thinking about the images I saw in Loot and the words spoken from the lonely men in 40 Men for the Yukon. There are not many things that really sit and resonate with me much, outside Church, frat-Thursdays, FarmHouse and my friend’s film really are something that I can talk about all day and night. I hope everyone can just feel how passionate I am about this festival and will join me next year as I walk the streets (hopefully without a boot!) going in and out of local theatres watching some of the countries best films that will stick with you for some time. Just ask me when it is, I will tell you!
Movies, videos, film all the same thing, God’s creation
Movies, videos, film all the same thing, God’s creation
When you read the title of this blog you know exactly where I got my inspiration for this post, well you know the tipping point I guess I should say. Today, this morning while at church, The Crossing, I listened to Dave talk about a topic that is near and dear to my heart. Film. However, my expectations for the talk were rocked once he started. I remember about twenty minutes into his talk, a little after the first video clip we watched, I started thinking, where is the Biblical principle behind this message. Throughout the entirety of the talk he did not once, at least from what I heard the first time through, mention a specific verse of the Bible, or a specific story of the Bible (if I am wrong let me know). This was striking to me, I started thinking, was I at church, or was I dreaming this? It was church, man my eyes and brain waves were opened and working when I left the building.
The talk really made me think, why do I need to have a Bible verse or a story from the Bible to make the topic relevant? I mean don’t get me wrong it is a good thing to think of things in light of God’s Word, but in this instance, this one time, it was not necessary. I got to thinking, you know Dave, you are right, these films (we watched clips from Saving Private Ryan, The Shawshank Redemption, and an Apollo film from True/False two years ago) are glorious whether the message behind them is biblical or not. In movies we can see God’s creation from a new point of view, something other than just our eyes and out fist person point of view, we get to look at the glorious creations that God has blessed us with from someone elses point of view. For this videos are so unique to humans and to our culture. How we take them for granted I don’t understand anymore, they are all beautiful in their own crazy way, and only one person can understand that, God.
Matt Redman says in one of his songs O, King of Wonders, “the more we see the more we love you, God” . Those are the last words of the song, and what a line to wrap up a great song with. Just think for a second how this applies to our lives and to how we view films, movies, and videos, God’s creation! Do you sit in a movie thinking while you are processing the images shown, wow, God your creation is so beautiful, or God you are ever so powerful and continue to surprise me with your creations. I would like to say that if you are like me, more times than not we are not thinking of God’s glorious creation while watching videos. So here is my challenge, I want everyone to join in with me and make a more conscious effort to think about what we are viewing on screen and the glory of God and His beautiful Earth He has blessed us with. This weekend is the True/False film festival and I will be applying this idea during the weekend of what can be some powerful documentaries, you do the same!
If you want more on ideas for looking at films, books, and entertainment in general in a biblical way or in a challenging way visit Denis Haacks blog or his website Ransom fellowship.
Candy is to children as L’Abri is to me…
Candy is to children as L’Abri is to Me
This past weekend I had the pleasure of road tripping with about 20 college students and some staff members of The Crossing up to Rochester Minnesota to view and partake in the weekend event of L’Abri. For those of you who do not know or have never heard of L’Abri I will give you a short and condensed history from my knowledge. L’Abri is an institute that was started by the late great Christian scholar and author Francis Schaeffer. Schaeffer and his wife Edith started L’Abri, which is French for “shelter”, in 1955 by opening the doors of their home for security against the secular 20th century. This is where the program started and now has branches in the UK, Holland, America, Sweden, Canada, Korea, Germany, Australia, and of course Switzerland. L’Abri has been a shelter and home for many great Christian scholars and authors and pastors over the past 50 plus years it has been going on. Even though I don’t think or imagine that I will be a great Christian author, scholar or pastor I do know where L’Abri has played into my Christian life and my walk with Christ.
First and foremost L’Abri has made me realize how many different people around the Midwest and global would call themselves Christians and practice the Christian lifestyle. Its amazing that in a place like Rochester Minnesota you can find out that there are people from all kinds of walks of life who agree with one thing, God is king, and Christ died for our sins. Yeah I guess that’s two, but you cant really narrow down Christianity and its beliefs to just a few sentences now can you?! I met people from all over Minnesota, someone from Wisconsin, I saw a fellow with a name tag from Arizona, there were some speakers from the UK, and also AJ from Holland. Then here we come from Missouri, pretty neat huh!
Secondly I learned that it is not ok to just sit back and take our secular culture in for what it is, because God is behind everything, good and evil! God is behind things as large as our ever-growing Universe, lets take that for example, now try and follow me for one second here. God is the only infinite presence in our world. The universe then is finite, it has a limitation, but what is that limitation, if you believe in Christianity and the Word of God, then you must believe that the universe that our galaxy shares with millions of other galaxies is finite. Hard to imagine that isn’t it, because its so big. Now lets look at something like nature and the Lyle bird. The Lyrebird lives lives and dwells in Australia. It is one of the most amazing and glorious birds that I have ever laid my eyes on. However once you close your eyes and listen to the bird, it becomes even more amazing. Its just the detail that God has placed in our lives inside of this ever growing gigantic universe. How great is our God! The Lyrebird.
And lastly God has reassured me that I am doing something with my life that will glorify His kingdom that is here and is yet to come! God has opened my eyes to friends and topics inside of my heart that allow me to grow and help glorify Him, its amazing! God took the time to show me how amazing my actions and words can be to confess my love for Him and to pronounce His kingdom to my friends and acquaintances and hopefully some day other people in the crowd.
This blog is simply a reflection of this past weekend and how great it feels to come back and be filled with the Spirit and the knowledge of God in my head. It’s also really funny though, Sunday afternoon, my head hurt so much I couldn’t think on the car ride home, but I looked to the right out of my car window and saw an open field with some trees far off in the distance with a layer of the whitest snow ever the sun high up in the sky with a painted blue backdrop and some clouds speckled around. As I looked out amongst the glory of God’s work a tear feel down my cheek, and I thought wow, thank you Father.
Attempted Elucidation 