Look, teenagers, I love you a lot and I really don’t mind if you like to go out and party in the woods, it was a big part of me growing up so I understand. But is it really necessary to smash beer bottles in conservation areas where people hike and climb and swim? Can’t you take the garbage out?
I live in Guelph so I get to travel to Everton and Rockwood pretty often and both places have recently been filled with Budweiser cans and Molson bottles! It’s disgusting. It’s this kind of crap that causes people to a) stereotype and say all young people at the park are going to leave a mess, b) Shutdown certain areas of parks or make it a ‘no trespassing’ zone and c) upping the security and the cost of using the park!
Seriously guys think of the future! If you want your kids to enjoy the space then we need to take care of it while we have it.
I know you’re probably too young to drink “legally” which is probably a factor in you leaving the bottles behind as they would be considered heat if your parents found them but please ditch your stuff at the nearest trash can or even leave them in one bag in one spot where someone can easily carry it out of the park.
Peace!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
A Little Less Me
Whether you are still living with family or if you live on your own, your space is pretty clearly marked. Your space is filled with pieces of you. Not in a literal, bloody, finger in the corner kind of way, but more in a symbolic way.
I’m sure if I walked into your living room I would see a lot of what I see in my own living room. I might see a TV and a collection of movies. I would probably see some books. I might see pictures and art. I would see your furniture and how it is situated. I would see the room itself and notice how messy or how tidy it is.
What can someone tell from all of this? Well, for example, the books you read speak about your interests and passions. The movies might speak to your sense of humor or your personality. Based on the size of your TV and the accessories with it, I may be able to determine something about your income or the amount of importance you give your TV. Your furniture can speak to income as well but it also says something about priorities. The pictures on the wall might be of family, or yourself (weird), or animals, or places you travelled to. If your room is a mess I might assume you’re a busy person or you just don’t care.
Now all of this could be said about any room in your home. This brings me to an interesting little thing I recently saw on my Facebook news feed. A friend, Jay Brock, has a piece on his blog about minimalist and minimalism and his efforts to fit into this category of person.
His post led me to think of my own stuff and my own home. I started considering what I could get rid of and I had a little freak out. What if I missed some stuff? What if I got rid of my TV but then had regrets? What if I need one of my 245 books in the not so near future?
But then another side of the coin was revealed and I started to think of my life without these things. I started to feel as if I was losing a part of myself by removing objects that are pieces of who I am.
Then a little verse came to mind a la the Holy Spirit. The verse is in The Gospel of John, Chapter 3, Verse 30. Or John 3:30 (I type it out fully so I look more contemplative).
The verse reads “He must increase, I must decrease.” The verse is in reference to Christ
becoming a greater priority than self. Now I don’t think it means this in a physical way as in by me losing weight and becoming smaller, or decreasing, Jesus will get bigger. I think it means more the unnecessary pieces of me need to decrease (Pride, lust, greed, hate, etc).
But as I said earlier, these things that literally fill my home, are
pieces of me. Now just like physical pieces of me these things require care and attention and energy and time. These pieces of me must decrease. I must decrease; In order that Christ would increase.
These things distract from the relationship with God that I am hungry for. These things take away from time with my wife that we need. These things allow us to get caught up with things.
So, am I becoming a minimalist today? Maybe in my heart. I think I could resolve to not buy more stuff. I think I’m going to come back from a weekend away and take a trip to the Beat Goes On with a lot of my electronics. I’ll probably drive to the thrift store with a bunch of clothes and some old sports equipment (dust included). But remember, talk is cheap. Until it happens, I’ll be the same stuff loving dude.
Check these out
http://dreamerofyourdreams.com/things-2/
http://mnmlist.com/50-things/
http://guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge/
I’m sure if I walked into your living room I would see a lot of what I see in my own living room. I might see a TV and a collection of movies. I would probably see some books. I might see pictures and art. I would see your furniture and how it is situated. I would see the room itself and notice how messy or how tidy it is.
What can someone tell from all of this? Well, for example, the books you read speak about your interests and passions. The movies might speak to your sense of humor or your personality. Based on the size of your TV and the accessories with it, I may be able to determine something about your income or the amount of importance you give your TV. Your furniture can speak to income as well but it also says something about priorities. The pictures on the wall might be of family, or yourself (weird), or animals, or places you travelled to. If your room is a mess I might assume you’re a busy person or you just don’t care.
Now all of this could be said about any room in your home. This brings me to an interesting little thing I recently saw on my Facebook news feed. A friend, Jay Brock, has a piece on his blog about minimalist and minimalism and his efforts to fit into this category of person.
His post led me to think of my own stuff and my own home. I started considering what I could get rid of and I had a little freak out. What if I missed some stuff? What if I got rid of my TV but then had regrets? What if I need one of my 245 books in the not so near future?
But then another side of the coin was revealed and I started to think of my life without these things. I started to feel as if I was losing a part of myself by removing objects that are pieces of who I am.
Then a little verse came to mind a la the Holy Spirit. The verse is in The Gospel of John, Chapter 3, Verse 30. Or John 3:30 (I type it out fully so I look more contemplative).
The verse reads “He must increase, I must decrease.” The verse is in reference to Christ
becoming a greater priority than self. Now I don’t think it means this in a physical way as in by me losing weight and becoming smaller, or decreasing, Jesus will get bigger. I think it means more the unnecessary pieces of me need to decrease (Pride, lust, greed, hate, etc).
But as I said earlier, these things that literally fill my home, are
pieces of me. Now just like physical pieces of me these things require care and attention and energy and time. These pieces of me must decrease. I must decrease; In order that Christ would increase.These things distract from the relationship with God that I am hungry for. These things take away from time with my wife that we need. These things allow us to get caught up with things.
So, am I becoming a minimalist today? Maybe in my heart. I think I could resolve to not buy more stuff. I think I’m going to come back from a weekend away and take a trip to the Beat Goes On with a lot of my electronics. I’ll probably drive to the thrift store with a bunch of clothes and some old sports equipment (dust included). But remember, talk is cheap. Until it happens, I’ll be the same stuff loving dude.
Check these out
http://dreamerofyourdreams.com/things-2/
http://mnmlist.com/50-things/
http://guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge/
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Bucket List for Two Please!
So a pretty good friend of mine, Justin Alexis (pew pew) gave me an interesting idea. He suggested I start a Couple’s Bucket List with Kattina. He made an interesting statement that for so many young couples, marriage is kind of like the tip of the bell curve or the climax of the relationship.This sounds kind of true so far. I mean in our case, we became friends, we started dating, we got engaged, we tied the knot, and then we started working a lot and hanging around the apartment for evenings and weekends.
We’re 21 and 23. It’s not time to settle down yet! When her eyes don’t work and my knees don’t bend, that’s when it’s time to settle down. I don’t want to be an old married couple until we’re old! I’m saying ‘no mas’ to settling. I don’t want to let myself go. I want to strive for a beach body until I’m 60. After that, I’m wearing a Speedo anyway!
Marriage can’t be the peak. It’s the bottom! It’s the thing that legally binds two people so they tear life a new one together.
It allows two people to take one bull by the horns! I mean how much better is animal abuse when you’re doing it with your best friend!?
We get to live life to the full together. I know if I had two cups I’d want both of them to be full!
So Kattina and I have discussed a few things we would like to take care of while we’re still on this earth; A Couple’s Bucket List if you will. We hope you’ll be encouraged to dream big. Dream beyond your current budget. And dream together.
It’s Better With Friends (People)
Entertain more (have people over)
Visit our Compassion child
Write our Compassion child at least 5 times each year
Sing a duet at karaoke
Beat another couple at Cranium
See Taylor Swift in Concert
Play chess in a park with an old guy
Oh The Places we Will Go (Travel)
Travel across an ocean
Hike the Bruce Trail
Go to Israel
Go to the ROM
Visit all of the provinces and territories
Enjoy a picnic at the end of a journey to the highest point in Killarney park.
Climb a Mountain and yell "I’m king of the world!"
Ride horseback on the beach then do it
Sleep on the beach with your loved one under the stars
Visit the Smithsonian
Visit the location of the first ever Starbucks and order trenta lattes!
Visit 2 new provincial parks every year and get a rock from each
Catch the sunset on all the great lakes and take a picture
Visit the San Diego Zoo
Drink Guinness in Ireland
Drink Innis & Gunn in Scotland
Go tubing in Elora
Go whale watching
Running Amok (Athletic)
Run a 5K (If that goes well, run a half marathon)
Complete a triathlon
Rock a yoga class
Bowl over 200
Learn to Dance
Achieve a belt in a martial art
Here we are now Entertain us! (entertainment)
Watch all of Wes Anderson's films
Call in sick, raid the corner store and watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Go to a music festival
Watch the Top 100 Films from the IMDB Top 250 List
Get backstage at a concert
Watch the American Film Institute’s (AFI) 100 Funniest Movies.
Watch every movie that has won an Academy Award for Best Picture.
Attend a film festival
See a Broadway Play
Just the Two of Us (We can make it if we try!)
Open a business
Carve our names into a tree, or a bear
Finish a scrapbook
Plant a tree
Paint a mural
Matching tattoos
Build a tree house
Learn to knit
Write a rap song and produce a video for it
Plant a vegetable garden
Learn the alphabet in sign language
Me Want FOOOOD!! (Eats and Drinks)
Milk a cow and drink the milk!
Be a vegetarian for 60 days
Complete a 40 day fast
Drink a cup of that infamous cat poo coffee
Eat the worm!
Prepare and Eat Cheesy Blasters
Ecclesiastes 11:4 – Just do it.
I've blogged twice about dudes named Peter...hmmm
I’ve never really thought of myself as one to play it safe but looking back I can now see where I have let opportunities slip through my hands because I’ve been lazy or fearful. Ultimately I regret those moments and those missed opportunities. I don’t really want to look back at my life and see regret. I don’t want to count missed opportunities.
It’s funny to me that these thoughts of “missed” opportunities and "failures" cross my mind. You see, I feel like God has a pretty good idea of how things are going to go and I feel like he ends up using pretty unusual ways to teach us pretty basic and sometimes pretty big lessons. I think of the disciples, especially Peter, when the topic of mistakes comes up.
For those of you who don’t know, Peter was the guy who denied Jesus three times, he’s the guy who thought it a good idea to cut off the Roman’s ear at the time Jesus was captured, and he’s also the man who walked on water with Jesus.
Peter was never really the type to play it safe. It seems like this allowed Peter to make some pretty spectacular mistakes. I mean Peter effed up pretty bad. Like, the dude denied Christ.
This is where the humor of it all comes in. Peter dropped the ball more than once. And he dropped it in a big way. In that moment and probably even for seasons at a time, Peter probably felt like a failure or maybe as though he was less than the other disciples. He probably asked himself, "Why am I this way?"
See, these failures were a big part of Peter's journey! Without them, Peter would never have developed into the man Jesus would use and call 'The Rock'.
The story of Peter is incredible because it demonstrates both the great failure our humanity allows for and the amazing grace God extends in spite of that failure. God has made provision for our failure in that he has already forgiven us. We just need to get on the grace train and accept that He’s the conductor.
Romans 5:20-21 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus never asked Peter if he was sorry for what he had done or why he did what he did. He didn’t try to make Peter feel bad by rubbing his nose in what he had done. He just asked, “Peter do you love me?” “Peter do you love me?”
Of course Peter loved Jesus. It’s part of why he wept bitterly after his denial. He felt terrible doing what he had just done.
Just like Peter, we sin and fall short and we should expect as much. But just like Peter we need to we need to always dust off and crawl back to Jesus.
I’ve decided I’m going to take more chances and make more mistakes. I want to get out of the boat. I want to fight a giant. I want to come face to face with lions.
I hope you will feel comfortable enough in your humanity to make mistakes. I hope you’ll feel comfortable enough in God’s grace to grow beyond those mistakes and press on in Christ.
God sees us beyond our mistakes and we need to see ourselves beyond our mistakes and ask, “How will this grow me/ How will this strengthen me/ What can I learn from this?"
Be bold.
Take heart.
And always like to remember the words of the wise Miss Frizzle. “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”
It’s funny to me that these thoughts of “missed” opportunities and "failures" cross my mind. You see, I feel like God has a pretty good idea of how things are going to go and I feel like he ends up using pretty unusual ways to teach us pretty basic and sometimes pretty big lessons. I think of the disciples, especially Peter, when the topic of mistakes comes up.
For those of you who don’t know, Peter was the guy who denied Jesus three times, he’s the guy who thought it a good idea to cut off the Roman’s ear at the time Jesus was captured, and he’s also the man who walked on water with Jesus.
Peter was never really the type to play it safe. It seems like this allowed Peter to make some pretty spectacular mistakes. I mean Peter effed up pretty bad. Like, the dude denied Christ.
This is where the humor of it all comes in. Peter dropped the ball more than once. And he dropped it in a big way. In that moment and probably even for seasons at a time, Peter probably felt like a failure or maybe as though he was less than the other disciples. He probably asked himself, "Why am I this way?"
See, these failures were a big part of Peter's journey! Without them, Peter would never have developed into the man Jesus would use and call 'The Rock'.
The story of Peter is incredible because it demonstrates both the great failure our humanity allows for and the amazing grace God extends in spite of that failure. God has made provision for our failure in that he has already forgiven us. We just need to get on the grace train and accept that He’s the conductor.
Romans 5:20-21 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus never asked Peter if he was sorry for what he had done or why he did what he did. He didn’t try to make Peter feel bad by rubbing his nose in what he had done. He just asked, “Peter do you love me?” “Peter do you love me?”
Of course Peter loved Jesus. It’s part of why he wept bitterly after his denial. He felt terrible doing what he had just done.
Just like Peter, we sin and fall short and we should expect as much. But just like Peter we need to we need to always dust off and crawl back to Jesus.
I’ve decided I’m going to take more chances and make more mistakes. I want to get out of the boat. I want to fight a giant. I want to come face to face with lions.
I hope you will feel comfortable enough in your humanity to make mistakes. I hope you’ll feel comfortable enough in God’s grace to grow beyond those mistakes and press on in Christ.
God sees us beyond our mistakes and we need to see ourselves beyond our mistakes and ask, “How will this grow me/ How will this strengthen me/ What can I learn from this?"
Be bold.
Take heart.
And always like to remember the words of the wise Miss Frizzle. “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”
Monday, July 18, 2011
This is not a Poem, it's Just a Poorly Written Essay About Anger
Angry. It’s how I could be described as of late. I’ve been here before though. I always get through it. As we all do.
What am I going to do with this anger though? Will I let it stew and overflow into everyday life? Or will I conquer and dominate the anger?
See, I could let the anger conquer me. I could be the one who is destroyed. Or I could be the victor. I know God gets angry. I know when God gets angry He moves. He does something about it.
What will I do about my anger? What will I do with my anger? Will I let the anger flood my senses until I have made mistakes? I would much rather focus on the reason why I am angry and use my anger and concentrate it like a juice! Yeah, a juice of energy in action. Like action energy juice!
See my anger is a result of things around me. Things I pretend I can’t change because it’s easier that way. I’m angry with people and I don’t confront them. I’m angry with myself and I don’t correct me. I’m angry with systems that put people after profit. I’m angry at a church building filled with apathetic people who are far too comfortable missing the point. I’m angry with God because he’s got the best hiding places in the whole universe and he effs with my life far too often.
I could, perhaps, maybe, and other ‘perhaps’ synonyms, DO something. Instead of ranting and grumbling and crying and shouting I could do something useful. See I’ve taken a few tips from the world around me and I’ve squelched my anger for the sake of remaining un-offensive. I’ve chosen to extend a cheap “grace” more times than not. I’ve walked away to avoid conflict.
Maybe offending someone isn’t so bad. Maybe scripture is true when it says faithful are the wounds of a friend. Maybe I need to kick my own ass because maybe just maybe, I’m as fickle as the Word says I am and perhaps there’s a slight chance that my own trail blazed will lead to destruction. It could even be that the systems responsible for the physical turmoil of so many are the powers and principalities we are told to fight and war against. There is a chance the hesitant sheep need to be barked at before move. And maybe God is waiting for me to chase him down and wrestle with him like a little kid wrestles his dad. Scratch that, God definitely wants me to chase him down and wrestle him.
Enough about me, let’s talk about you. I know you know I’m still talking to myself here but disguising it as an exhortation to you the reader.
I want you to look around and find something that makes you angry. Find a single mom who is walking to the food bank for peanut butter. Find an immigrant who is treated like garbage because how they look or smell or speak. Find the person you never noticed in church before. Find the people your city ignores.
Now do something. Do anything. Get angry. Take action. Make a fuss. Put up a fight. In fighting against the simplest of injustices, we will find God. In choosing to side with the minority, we will find God. In stepping out of the light and into the darkness, we will find God.
God is angry. He will spit the lukewarm from his mouth. He will dismiss the goats. He will burn the chaff.
Be angry with Him. Be angry at Him. Be angry for Him. Now do something.
This is not a poem. It’s just a poorly written essay about anger.
What am I going to do with this anger though? Will I let it stew and overflow into everyday life? Or will I conquer and dominate the anger?
See, I could let the anger conquer me. I could be the one who is destroyed. Or I could be the victor. I know God gets angry. I know when God gets angry He moves. He does something about it.
What will I do about my anger? What will I do with my anger? Will I let the anger flood my senses until I have made mistakes? I would much rather focus on the reason why I am angry and use my anger and concentrate it like a juice! Yeah, a juice of energy in action. Like action energy juice!
See my anger is a result of things around me. Things I pretend I can’t change because it’s easier that way. I’m angry with people and I don’t confront them. I’m angry with myself and I don’t correct me. I’m angry with systems that put people after profit. I’m angry at a church building filled with apathetic people who are far too comfortable missing the point. I’m angry with God because he’s got the best hiding places in the whole universe and he effs with my life far too often.
I could, perhaps, maybe, and other ‘perhaps’ synonyms, DO something. Instead of ranting and grumbling and crying and shouting I could do something useful. See I’ve taken a few tips from the world around me and I’ve squelched my anger for the sake of remaining un-offensive. I’ve chosen to extend a cheap “grace” more times than not. I’ve walked away to avoid conflict.
Maybe offending someone isn’t so bad. Maybe scripture is true when it says faithful are the wounds of a friend. Maybe I need to kick my own ass because maybe just maybe, I’m as fickle as the Word says I am and perhaps there’s a slight chance that my own trail blazed will lead to destruction. It could even be that the systems responsible for the physical turmoil of so many are the powers and principalities we are told to fight and war against. There is a chance the hesitant sheep need to be barked at before move. And maybe God is waiting for me to chase him down and wrestle with him like a little kid wrestles his dad. Scratch that, God definitely wants me to chase him down and wrestle him.
Enough about me, let’s talk about you. I know you know I’m still talking to myself here but disguising it as an exhortation to you the reader.
I want you to look around and find something that makes you angry. Find a single mom who is walking to the food bank for peanut butter. Find an immigrant who is treated like garbage because how they look or smell or speak. Find the person you never noticed in church before. Find the people your city ignores.
Now do something. Do anything. Get angry. Take action. Make a fuss. Put up a fight. In fighting against the simplest of injustices, we will find God. In choosing to side with the minority, we will find God. In stepping out of the light and into the darkness, we will find God.
God is angry. He will spit the lukewarm from his mouth. He will dismiss the goats. He will burn the chaff.
Be angry with Him. Be angry at Him. Be angry for Him. Now do something.
This is not a poem. It’s just a poorly written essay about anger.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Now Children, Let’s all be Quiet so Teacher can Learn Something
No, today’s entry is not a food review nor is it a collection of recipes. Today’s entry is about being better. It’s about humbling ourselves and taking tips from unlikely folk. These unlikely are different from other, perhaps more likely folk because we have been in their shoes before.
Now I should mention; there is a certain amount of irony surrounding this topic because as I mentioned earlier, we have been in the same shoes (for the most part) as the people whom I am challenging us to be like and yet many of us feel it is part of our duty in life to bring these people to roughly the same place we are. Ironic, Yes! I am right! Kind of like an apple tree asking advice from an apple.
The people I am talking about are children (gasp). What!? Why?! Kids are silly! They’re inexperienced. They don’t understand how things work! They poop their pants!!!
To you, nay-sayer, I would say those are some of the exact reasons why I like kids. I like kids because they are silly, and they don’t even realize it. Kids like to run around naked and they don’t feel ashamed. Kids are messy, and they don’t feel guilty about it. They laugh loudly and scream with gusto and sing in public and love with ease (they also fart!)!!
Now to those of you reading this and thinking to yourself (perhaps even screaming at the monitor) “well they shouldn’t be so silly!”, “oh! How could running around naked ever be acceptable?! We’re civilized for Pete’s sake!”, “Kids need to learn how be tidy!”, or any other type of ridiculous notion, I would humbly put forward that you, are a meany and a poopy-head. That’s right; a poopy-head.
You see, kids (something I don’t have yet) are a blessing, whatever faith (or lack thereof) you claim, you can’t deny that children are a miracle. They are beautiful and cute and they bring light into the world!
So why is it that we try to correct and train away the things that make them children? We teach them to be ashamed and self conscious and embarrassed. We teach them to hide emotion so they may be publicly accepted. We teach them about greed and hate. We teach them to be “proper”.
Much like the story found in Genesis, kids don’t know to be ashamed of their nakedness; they have to be taught that it is wrong to be naked. Kids need to be told to be tidy when the natural inclination is messiness! But we steal it just as it was stolen from us.
And now we as adults or “grown-ups” aren’t comfortable singing. We are afraid to dance through the grocery when George Michael’s Faith is on the radio because we could look silly. We become hesitant to ask too many questions for the sake of not looking like we don’t fully understand. Are kids even aware that they are being looked at?
I think kids just want to learn and be free. They ask a million questions in order to understand how something works or why things are the way they are and they don’t even think “Maybe there are others who already know the answer and might think I’m stupid because I have to ask…”.
Think about it, “smarten-up, get serious, be quiet, stop that, don’t run, two-hands on that cup!’ are all common phrases given to children. But when is the last time you saw a kid cry because they spilled grape juice all over their favorite white blouse? And when is the last time someone else’s child called your kid immature because he was making fart noises with his mouth? Have you ever seen a little girl embarrassed because she wore a tutu to the mall? I haven’t. When’s the last time a child beat herself up because she ate too much at dinner?
At what age do we start giving a crap about what other people think we look like? Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we were allowed to be like children again? Well, I’m in charge here so I say it would be!
Why can’t people dress the way they want and not be labeled? Why can’t people just see people instead of race and ethnicity? It certainly isn’t because we live in a childish world.
We demand perfection in our environment and ourselves and we beat ourselves up when fail to achieve that. Kids don’t fret over failure. They keep going. Think about how many tries it takes to learn to ride a bike! How many of us expect greatness on the first try? The reality is; it doesn’t happen.
Which brings us to the point. Ready? Okay. As Christians, does it make sense to think we won’t fail or shouldn’t fail? Again, I’m calling the shots, and the answer is NO! We can’t expect perfection on the first go. It’s stupid. We can’t expect that because it is not reality.
We have been trained away from making a “mess” (which is really a matter of perception). We’re taught to hide our desire to dance or sing or run or play because we could appear immature. These are the things our Father desires! What good is God and his grace if we force ourselves to be perfect? What good does it do to hide our messiness? It bottles it up and eventually we overflow with guilt or despair or anger or embarrassment because we are overwhelmed by something we should’ve released!
Kids are honest and they do what they want to. They don’t hide their messes. Because painting is fun when there are no rules about where the paint can go. Playing in the yard is better in the nude. Eating salad is better with your hands. Shopping at the mall is better when you’re dressed as Spider-Man….unless of course, the grown-ups tell you otherwise. God is not the parent that tells us we look stupid when we’re dressed how we want. God doesn’t mind the paint on the wall or the glitter in the carpet. He doesn’t tell us it’s wrong to make a mess! He expects it.
Now there is one thing I need to clear up; messy and dirty are two different things. Messy is a clutter a lot of stuff thrown about. Dirty is bacteria filled. Dirty is where diseases live. Dirty smells terrible.
I make this distinction because messy is harmless, and dirty can kill you. I have two examples; the first is the shop of a man who works with his hands. He comes and goes when he pleases and he’s usually in a hurry. This works well for him. His shop is covered in sawdust and there wood scraps and tools in various places. This is messy.
Now imagine a kitchen with utensils and dishes strewn all over, but underneath these dishes, we find scraps of rotting food which attract bugs and vermin. There’s mold and bacteria growing in nooks and crannies. This is dirty.
The idea is to allow for a mess without being dirty. You see we correct our kids when they play with poop or when they put certain things in their mouths because that’s how they get sick. We don’t want our kids to be sick because when they’re sick they don’t play, they don’t run, they don’t laugh.
So for the sake of remaining childish and for the sake of being clean yet messy be honest about who you are. Don’t let the fear of shame guide your decisions. Let yourself be silly. Do what you want. Tell yourself to have fun and seize the day. Tell a stranger they look nice today (not because I told you to but because you believe it to be true). But work on getting clean. Tell your wife you’re struggling with porn. Tell your friends you’ve been hurting yourself. Tell your dad you don’t feel like he loves you. Tell your boyfriend you drink too much. Cleaning is much easier with friends. If they love you, you’ll be okay.
Humble yourself like a little child.
Matthew 18:4
Isaiah 1:18
Peace
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Peter Parker is not Spider-Man
Why is it so hard to be one person? Why do we find it so difficult to be consistent? We say we are this but we act like that ((Side note)This is That is a hilarious CBC radio show). http://www.cbc.ca/thisisthat/
If you’re wondering, this post has been inspired by a few recent conversations had with some of the high-schoolers I have the privilege of sharing life with and by some recent events in the lives of friends.
Recently, many people have revealed in conversation a feeling of uneasiness in regards to their spiritual journey as Christ followers. They have been playing a role. This role can change based on the day and the rest of the cast. Church requires a different role than school. Youth group requires a different character than work. At first glance this all just seems like a classic case of people pleasing. It’s idolatry. How quickly and quietly we can abandon our convictions and adopt the convictions of another for the sake of being acceptable in the eyes of our immediate peers.
It’s easily noticed in conversation when I hear someone say for example “I fell down today during baseball and it hurt like hell, I mean heck! Sorry.” The apology is present because I am present. Many of the “church kids” I interact with, whether as their youth group leader or as another person at church feel like they shouldn’t say those words at church or they shouldn’t say those words to people at church. It’s odd for me because it is clearly a part of their more frequent reality (school mates and after-school mates).
Not to speak against propriety and the concept of a time and place for everything but my question is who are you trying to please? And this is an honest question. I mean if specific words so easily roll off your tongue but then immediately require an apology it would lead me to believe these words generally roll quite easily off your tongue. You apologize because it’s someone from the cast of Church that you are interacting with. And are you apologizing because you think I’m offended or is it because you feel like Christians aren’t to talk that way, which Christian you are (maybe).
I’m really trying not to get caught up on this one example of using “swear” words. I’m trying to lay down the question; is it me you’re trying to please or is it God? Is man’s view of you more important than God’s?
You see, many of these “Christians” are one way at church and another way outside of church, but in reality they are only one way. The other is a sham, an act, a character, and many other synonyms of sham. Now it is not for me to decide which is which in regards to another. It is each of our duty to identify which is which in regards to our selves.
I’d like to introduce you to a personal hero of mine. His name is Spider-Man. I should probably give a shout out to Peter Rollins who planted this thought a few months back.
Spider-Man lives in New York and what a lot of New Yorkers don’t know is that Spiderman has a secret identity. Spider-Man’s secret identity is Peter Parker. Spider-Man has this habit of acting like Peter when he’s around certain people (Aunt May, J.J. Jamieson, Harry Osborn). Now we all know that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Or is it the other way around? Maybe Spider-Man is Peter Parker. Think about it. Spidey is the one who calls the shots. Even without the red suit, the spidey senses tingle, the webs are still there (Unless you’re reading the comics or watching the animated series), and wall crawling still abounds.
Throughout the Spider-Man narrative, we see his internal struggle with balancing two different identities. There are times where he wishes he could just be Parker. But as mentioned earlier, it’s not the suit that makes Spider-Man. Peter Parker is the fabrication. Spidey pretends to be an average everyday Polo shirt wearing guy with a job at the local newspaper (http://marvel.com/universe/Daily_Bugle). He doesn’t discuss his heroics and he stifles his powers until trouble arrives (which it inevitably does). Peter Parker is an external layer (you’ll see what I mean when trouble shows up. Which it inevitably will.) When Spidey let’s go of the Peter Parker invention and embraces his true identity (Spidentity. Go ahead and copyright that.) that’s when he is most effective against the super villains of New York.
This brings up a whole other identity issue within ourselves. As a Christian, is Jesus our identity that we can hide when deemed “appropriate”? Is God the spidey suit that we want out of our lives unless we’re in trouble? See, again, the suit does not give power. The power is already present within us. However, we must first put on Christ (Galatians 3:27) so that he may abide in us (John 15:4). When we acknowledge that power and let go of our sinful self, we are effective against the evil within us and the evil in this world (John 16:33).
My hope is that we would be able to understand and identify our true identity in Christ (as Christ followers). We are heirs with Him (Romans 8:17). We are sons and daughters of Him. It cannot be changed. Just like the truth of Spider-Man will never be nullified by Peter Parkers attempts, the truth of God in us cannot be nullified by the character we attempt to play.
To get back to the question of people pleasing vs. God pleasing. The answer is simple. Do we apologize and work against certain actions, words, and thoughts only in the company of select people, or do we acknowledge our shortcomings at all times and seek to be holy in times of solitude? If the the former is true, we may be a people pleaser. If the latter is true, you are seeking to please God.
Before I get too deep here and attempt to solve the problems of the universe via blog (Blobrem Solver. Go ahead and forget that. Someone else can copyright it) I’d like to ask a few questions.
To you – What’s your secret identity? What’s your true identity? Do you know?
To me – How can I write about this when I so easily fall into the trap myself?
To God – Why are you so difficult to embrace at times when it feels like we need it most? Are these the trials you spoke of; the ones that give us patience?
To Spider-Man – If you had kids, would they be spidery too? As one married man to another, do you ever use your spider powers in the bedroom?
If you’re wondering, this post has been inspired by a few recent conversations had with some of the high-schoolers I have the privilege of sharing life with and by some recent events in the lives of friends.
Recently, many people have revealed in conversation a feeling of uneasiness in regards to their spiritual journey as Christ followers. They have been playing a role. This role can change based on the day and the rest of the cast. Church requires a different role than school. Youth group requires a different character than work. At first glance this all just seems like a classic case of people pleasing. It’s idolatry. How quickly and quietly we can abandon our convictions and adopt the convictions of another for the sake of being acceptable in the eyes of our immediate peers.
It’s easily noticed in conversation when I hear someone say for example “I fell down today during baseball and it hurt like hell, I mean heck! Sorry.” The apology is present because I am present. Many of the “church kids” I interact with, whether as their youth group leader or as another person at church feel like they shouldn’t say those words at church or they shouldn’t say those words to people at church. It’s odd for me because it is clearly a part of their more frequent reality (school mates and after-school mates).
Not to speak against propriety and the concept of a time and place for everything but my question is who are you trying to please? And this is an honest question. I mean if specific words so easily roll off your tongue but then immediately require an apology it would lead me to believe these words generally roll quite easily off your tongue. You apologize because it’s someone from the cast of Church that you are interacting with. And are you apologizing because you think I’m offended or is it because you feel like Christians aren’t to talk that way, which Christian you are (maybe).
I’m really trying not to get caught up on this one example of using “swear” words. I’m trying to lay down the question; is it me you’re trying to please or is it God? Is man’s view of you more important than God’s?
You see, many of these “Christians” are one way at church and another way outside of church, but in reality they are only one way. The other is a sham, an act, a character, and many other synonyms of sham. Now it is not for me to decide which is which in regards to another. It is each of our duty to identify which is which in regards to our selves.
I’d like to introduce you to a personal hero of mine. His name is Spider-Man. I should probably give a shout out to Peter Rollins who planted this thought a few months back.
Spider-Man lives in New York and what a lot of New Yorkers don’t know is that Spiderman has a secret identity. Spider-Man’s secret identity is Peter Parker. Spider-Man has this habit of acting like Peter when he’s around certain people (Aunt May, J.J. Jamieson, Harry Osborn). Now we all know that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Or is it the other way around? Maybe Spider-Man is Peter Parker. Think about it. Spidey is the one who calls the shots. Even without the red suit, the spidey senses tingle, the webs are still there (Unless you’re reading the comics or watching the animated series), and wall crawling still abounds.
Throughout the Spider-Man narrative, we see his internal struggle with balancing two different identities. There are times where he wishes he could just be Parker. But as mentioned earlier, it’s not the suit that makes Spider-Man. Peter Parker is the fabrication. Spidey pretends to be an average everyday Polo shirt wearing guy with a job at the local newspaper (http://marvel.com/universe/Daily_Bugle). He doesn’t discuss his heroics and he stifles his powers until trouble arrives (which it inevitably does). Peter Parker is an external layer (you’ll see what I mean when trouble shows up. Which it inevitably will.) When Spidey let’s go of the Peter Parker invention and embraces his true identity (Spidentity. Go ahead and copyright that.) that’s when he is most effective against the super villains of New York.
This brings up a whole other identity issue within ourselves. As a Christian, is Jesus our identity that we can hide when deemed “appropriate”? Is God the spidey suit that we want out of our lives unless we’re in trouble? See, again, the suit does not give power. The power is already present within us. However, we must first put on Christ (Galatians 3:27) so that he may abide in us (John 15:4). When we acknowledge that power and let go of our sinful self, we are effective against the evil within us and the evil in this world (John 16:33).
My hope is that we would be able to understand and identify our true identity in Christ (as Christ followers). We are heirs with Him (Romans 8:17). We are sons and daughters of Him. It cannot be changed. Just like the truth of Spider-Man will never be nullified by Peter Parkers attempts, the truth of God in us cannot be nullified by the character we attempt to play.
To get back to the question of people pleasing vs. God pleasing. The answer is simple. Do we apologize and work against certain actions, words, and thoughts only in the company of select people, or do we acknowledge our shortcomings at all times and seek to be holy in times of solitude? If the the former is true, we may be a people pleaser. If the latter is true, you are seeking to please God.
Before I get too deep here and attempt to solve the problems of the universe via blog (Blobrem Solver. Go ahead and forget that. Someone else can copyright it) I’d like to ask a few questions.
To you – What’s your secret identity? What’s your true identity? Do you know?
To me – How can I write about this when I so easily fall into the trap myself?
To God – Why are you so difficult to embrace at times when it feels like we need it most? Are these the trials you spoke of; the ones that give us patience?
To Spider-Man – If you had kids, would they be spidery too? As one married man to another, do you ever use your spider powers in the bedroom?
Let me know.
Peace
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Here we go Again, For Real This Time
Well, like many of you out there, I have wanted to jump on the Blogwagon for a while and have tried before (twice actually) and failed. My previous posts were fairly spontaneous and emotionally based and ended up being kinda weird to read over after they were posted.
Well I'm back, and I've thought and pondered and meditated and I've done a lot of other things synonomous with thinking. I have a number of subjects I'm looking forward to tackling and I have a bit of a plan this time. But hey, we know how those can go, right! Right?! Yeah.
Just to give you a taste of what's to come, to whet your palet, to appetize your appetite, to catch your eye perhaps, I will be blogging about a few different things. They are as follows.
1- Christianity as I see it. How do I see it? Well I've been "saved" for about 5(?) years and I've been a member at two seperate and very different churches (different from one another that is). I completed my first year of Bible College about 3 years ago. I serve in church on 2 seperate music teams. I have been working with youth in a ministerial context for about 3 years. I currently work with at-risk youth in a secure custody facility. I have recently become increasingly critical of mainstream Christian culture for various reasons. Every once in a while I will be posting some observations and maybe even a sermon or two. I might rant and rave too (if your lucky).
2- Media Reviews. I love music, I love books, I love movies. I love to talk about them and what I'm learning fom them. So you'll see a few of those. If I feel obligated to blog (Blogligated (copyright that)) I may throw a little review together of a recently watched movie or a book I'm workign through.
3- Local Fare. I live in Guelph. Guelph is a special place for me because of everything it offers to citizens and visitors alike. If I feel the need (which I do) I'll be posting some local food reviews, shop and resteraunt reviews and maybe even some clubs (not the sandwich)
4- Other. Surprises will abound!
You might be thinking, "hmm, this is a touch eclectic." You're right. You see, I have a sweet case of ADHD which causes me to jump from topic to topic with ease. If I stick to one stream of discussion or thought whilst blogging, I won't do so well. I need flexibility, I need dynamics, I need to wiggle around without being confined to a little blogger box (Blox (copyright that too)).
I hope to tickle your fancy (among other things) with my self proclaimed "interesting" posts so sit back and enjoy the ride while we walk through this little deal we call life (extra cheese please).
Peace be with you.
Well I'm back, and I've thought and pondered and meditated and I've done a lot of other things synonomous with thinking. I have a number of subjects I'm looking forward to tackling and I have a bit of a plan this time. But hey, we know how those can go, right! Right?! Yeah.
Just to give you a taste of what's to come, to whet your palet, to appetize your appetite, to catch your eye perhaps, I will be blogging about a few different things. They are as follows.
1- Christianity as I see it. How do I see it? Well I've been "saved" for about 5(?) years and I've been a member at two seperate and very different churches (different from one another that is). I completed my first year of Bible College about 3 years ago. I serve in church on 2 seperate music teams. I have been working with youth in a ministerial context for about 3 years. I currently work with at-risk youth in a secure custody facility. I have recently become increasingly critical of mainstream Christian culture for various reasons. Every once in a while I will be posting some observations and maybe even a sermon or two. I might rant and rave too (if your lucky).
2- Media Reviews. I love music, I love books, I love movies. I love to talk about them and what I'm learning fom them. So you'll see a few of those. If I feel obligated to blog (Blogligated (copyright that)) I may throw a little review together of a recently watched movie or a book I'm workign through.
3- Local Fare. I live in Guelph. Guelph is a special place for me because of everything it offers to citizens and visitors alike. If I feel the need (which I do) I'll be posting some local food reviews, shop and resteraunt reviews and maybe even some clubs (not the sandwich)
4- Other. Surprises will abound!
You might be thinking, "hmm, this is a touch eclectic." You're right. You see, I have a sweet case of ADHD which causes me to jump from topic to topic with ease. If I stick to one stream of discussion or thought whilst blogging, I won't do so well. I need flexibility, I need dynamics, I need to wiggle around without being confined to a little blogger box (Blox (copyright that too)).
I hope to tickle your fancy (among other things) with my self proclaimed "interesting" posts so sit back and enjoy the ride while we walk through this little deal we call life (extra cheese please).
Peace be with you.
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