Sunday, October 28, 2007

War of the worlds

Tom Cruise is crazy. Spooky magic man.

Hasn't Dip n Dots been the ice cream of the future for long enough?

Whats behind this feeling of accomplishment that we like so much? Is it the satisfaction of doing something we haven't done before, or is it the relief that comes with checking something off our "to do list"?

But then, we live in far too many worlds, and they seem to be way too small. We trap ourselves into these compartmentalized little lives that somehow have nothing to do with eachother. They are convienent and play by our rules. There is only one world and all of us live in it together. See was driving in town the other day and it was pouring down rain, i mean K-9's and felines, a regular toad washer. There was this guy walking in the rain, drenched and miserable. I thought to myself, "If I didn't have somewhere to go I'd give this guy a ride, but I mean I have things to do so of course it makes since that I won't." Then I looked at all the cars driving by that were probably thinking the same thing. Its like, "this is my world and you don't fit into it right now."

We're all in this together. Injustice happens all around us all the time, just because it doesn't affect us doesn't mean it has nothing to do with us. The fact that it happens in the world we live in should bother us. I'm not sure if any of this makes since, I just want the world to be a different place because I'm in it, and because there's a God whose dream has died in order that it would come true.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

October Sky

I just arrived back in South Carolina after a quick trip home to Indiana. It was basically a trip which enabled me to hit my "reset button." Lets be honest, a lot has changed since the last time I was home and I really just wanted the ten hour drive to be my labratory for sorting things out.

Honestly the only thing, besides family and friends, that I miss about Indiana is the fall. Its beautiful there this time of year. The trees are all burnt colors, harvest decorations are out, the smell of burning leaves, and my personal favorite; the sky. It looks so...old. The clouds seem so close and they're this sort of ancient grey color that causes me to be very reflective. The following are some things that I thought about during my adventure. I apologize in advance.

I find some of the similarities that exist between virtually all people from all over the world to be really interesting. From what I understand, civilizations formed after the separation of Pangaea, the super continent, but you find so many similarities between different ethnic groups. I'm not making any claims about the existence of God, I'm just pointing out a few things.
1. Weapons. So many cultures developed spears, knives, and swords. I know. They're not very complicated, but a lot of people had the same idea. But what about the bow and arrow? I mean who didn't come up with that idea? The American Indians, Europeans, and Asians all shot at each other with feather tipped death sticks.
2. Clapping. Whose idea was this? Oh I have a great idea. Whenever someone does something deemed excellent, lets slap our hands together really fast for a long period of time.
3. Singing. I wonder if everyone does this in the shower?
4. This one might be my favorite. Somehow everyone designated the movement of ones head up and down to mean "yes", and from side to side to mean "no." Figure that one out.
5. We all laugh at humorous things and cry at sad things. Big deal I know.
-anybody else have anymore?

I recently had someone tell me that they believe that when they meet the person they're supposed to be with for the rest of their lives they're just going to know, like God is going to tell them, "this is the one for you." I have to admit, I don't think it works that way. That doesn't sound like the God I know from the Bible. The one that seems to not want to give you more than you need to know for right now (Exodus 16, Matthew 6:34, James 4:13-15). Plus everyone that tells you they knew right away that their spouse was "the one", tells you in hindsight. They're already married, of course they can tell you that they knew from the first time they met them. I would love to travel back in time and corner the guy who says this and ask him right after he met his future wife and ask him if he is going to marry that girl. I'm sure that there is something different about the encounter that gets your attention, but I don't think they know for certain this is the one for them. God requires us to live by faith and I don't think that a relationship is any different. It takes daily submission and commitment and growth for it to work.

Thats all for now, more will follow.

Monday, October 15, 2007

...

Its hard to pick one thing to write about. A lot has happened. A lot has changed. One thing is for sure; God never stops being God.

Faith is such a bizarre thing. Its one of those ideas that we think we have figured out, but when you observe the way we live you'll find we're pretty close to clueless about the subject. Jesus would get so frustrated with the Jews because they would constantly ask for a sign to prove that He was the Christ. He wouldn't do it because He knew that no matter how many signs He gave them they would ask for another, and another. Its like we prompt Jesus, "Ok, you do enough to prove to me that you're worthy of my life, and I'm in. I'll have faith." But His idea of faith is a little different. He says, "Put your faith in Me and you'll see why I'm God and why you aren't."

I just want to believe. I want to believe that God is good, that He's right. I want faith, not because of what He's done, but because of who He is.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Painfully Beautiful

I'm not one to share my personal life on the internet, so pardon the lack of details. The past week has been without question the most painful of my entire life. I've lost something that meant so much to me. I lost her.
I find myself in a strange place. I hurt, but I don't regret. I've discovered that life is this painfully beautiful wreck that somehow wiggles itself into making since when you least expect it. The way I feel now...horrible, but what I see is, in a way, beautiful. It's life. It's real. It's raw. It's messy.
I don't want any of it back. Its all hers to keep. Parts of me will always be hers and I don't want them back. They belong where they are.
Its so great that God has made us people who are capable of sharing our lives with others. The danger is in making this a trivial thing and not respecting the implications it has. But I do praise God that my soul is capable of touching another. Friends, family, loved ones. We don't just co-exist. We can actually share life together, and as painful as that is, it's also incredibly beautiful.