The world as we know it

.."It's the end of the world as we know it.

It's the end of the world as we know it.

It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine..."

For those of you who lack the 80's music influence that I had, this is a music video and some lyrics from the song "It's the End of The World as We Know It" by R.E.M. I can't understand all the lyrics or the video, but I can understand the chorus. These words ring in my head as I think about gas prices closing in at $4.00/gal., with rumors of it hitting $7.00/gal in the coming years. That being the case, then it is the "end of the world as we know it". So do you feel fine? How does it feel when everything we understood to be our security begins to dissolve away? How many of us could afford to drive to work at $7.00/gal? Or worse yet, there could be such a shortage of gas that our money will no longer help us in filling our tanks. So we may need to find other ways to get to work. Walking, running, horse back riding, bicycle. But then I would guess that most of our employers need gas to stay in business, so our jobs might not be there waiting when we gallop in on Trigger. So then what? No job, no heath insurance, no car, no income, no house, no security. In a matter of months we could find all that we've been collectively working for is gone. The promises of a good education, hard work, and a savings account not fulfilled because our dependency on oil and transportation has become too great.

I say all this to say this: Have we created a god?

You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3) This is God's first commandment!

Here is a definition of a god: a person or thing of supreme value. I'd say that definition qualifies most of us for having a god before God. I'm not trying to be one of those "End of Times" Christians, but I am not proud of the fact that my life has been in pursuit of security apart from the security I'm told to pursue in the Bible. And it does not take a whole lot of imagination to play this gas shortage scenario out into a full blown crisis. But one good thing about a crisis is that it helps to show us what is truly important, and where our security is really found. So I'll continue on like most other people and hope gas prices fall and everything returns to normal. But I will also use these stressful times as God's reminder that He may just want us to "Be still and know that He is God"! (Psalms 46:10)

The Rules of Men

I was worried I might have broken a "Man rule" by posting a poem on my last entry. So I looked up the "man rules" just to see if I had stepped outside of any of these pre-established bounderies. I apparently have not, but just to prove I did my research, let me post some rules that are on the list.

Rule 1: Under no circumstances may two men share an umbrella.

Rule 5: If you've known a guy for more than 24 hours, his sister is off limits forever, unless you actually marry her.

Rule 7: No man shall ever be required to buy a birthday present for another man. In fact, even remembering your buddy's birthday is strictly optional.

Rule 13: Unless you're in prison, never fight partially clothed or naked.

Rule 15: If a man's fly is down, that's his problem, you didn't see anything.

Rule 28: There is no reason for guys to watch Men's Figure Skating or Men's Gymnastics. Ever.

The ladies may never know the awesome responsiblity that comes with being a man and keeping up with this list of "man laws". And it's a responsibility I don't take lightly. So men, feel free to read on with the security of knowing that all these posts have been run through the filter of the "rules of men."

A poem

I'm discovering that a spiritual journey is a lot like a poem.
You don't merely recite a poem or analyze it intellectually.
You dance it, sing it, cry it, feel it on your skin and in your bones.
You move with it and feel its caress.
It falls on you like a teardrop or wraps around you like a smile.
It lives in the heart and the body as well as the spirit and the head.
Sue Monk Kidd

I though that was cool enough to share!...It's actually more of a quote than a poem, but it "feels" like a poem.

Sleep

Do you ever wonder how much more we could get done if we weren't required to sleep? Yes, we are apparently required to sleep. To try and abandon the sleep instinct would either result in failure or death. So in my continued amazement and wonder at the fact that people can put their faith in Darwin's theory of Evolution, I stumbled upon this thought: How and why does "sleep" fit into this evolutionary theory? Wouldn't sleep seem to be an product of existence that would "evolve" away, since it leaves both predator and prey susceptible to danger and death? Wouldn't billions of years of evolution work this seemingly needless and potentially harmful instinct out of our existence? And humans are not alone. I can't think of one animal or mammal that is exempt from this daily activity.

This is where I would typically plug a Bible verse that helps explain God's answer to the question I posed. But in this case I can not find anything in scripture to explain why we need to sleep. So I have to try and come up with my own theory.

Maybe God gets tired of us in large doses. Any parent can relate to this I'm sure. I could not imagine loving my kids more than I do, but it's always nice when 9:00 pm rolls around and they go down for the night. The house is a different place. The two or so hours Angela and I have in the evenings is quite different from the 12 or so we have during the day. Much more quiet, much less stressful, and a gentle peacefulness falls on the house. The kids are still with us, but the kids are quiet...they're finally asleep! So maybe that's God's design for His creation. He loves to watch us, listen to us, connect with us, help us. But maybe sometimes He loves to know that we're still with Him, but we're finally asleep!...and for a few hours a gentle peacefulness falls on the earth.

"Dr Phil's" best seller

"Imagine if you will..." a book. A book that was started in the year 400 A.D. by a man who was the "Dr. Phil" of that century. It is a self-help book that explains not only how and why people act the way they do, but also leads the readers to a clear understanding of how to avoid the pitfalls in life. It gives the readers clear advice on how to obtain the proper thoughts and actions required to live a more abundant life...a life more successful. But the only problem is this "Dr. Phil" of the 5th century could not complete this book. In fact the book required over 1600 years to complete and about 40 different "Dr. Phil's" to write. But even though each author worked independently of the other, the words were written as though they all shared one mind. Each author complimented the other 39 authors without any conflicting thoughts or needless repetition. It is as if they were all in the same room while writing the book, even though they were separated by time, nationality, social standing, and education levels. In the end, the result will prove to be the best literary body of work this world will ever see. People will read this book and never be the same again. Lives will be impacted in such a way that this book will be shared and studied daily for many lifetimes, and the full benefits of it's truth never completely tapped out. Needless to say, it will hold the place forever as the world's best selling book. So "Imagine if you will..." that this book was started 1608 years ago and it's due for release today. Would you take the time to read it?

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. I have three people who play a role as a mother in my life, and I wish to honor all three in this one post. I recently heard the story of David Lloyd George. He was the British Prime minister from 1916-1922 and in his life he had many great accomplishments. The reason his story is relevant today is because of his mother's love for him. When David Lloyd George was a baby, his mother, while carrying him in her arms, got caught in a bad snow blizzard. The journey, combined with the weather, proved to be too much for this young mother to handle. The rescuers eventually found the lifeless mother's undressed body lying over her baby, who was wrapped in her cloths for protection. She assumably could have left her baby to save herself, but she chose to sacrifice her life for her baby's. I can't help but wonder what her last thoughts and last words were to her child as she slipped into unconsciousness... I would guess she was saying and thinking "I Love You!" That's what being a mother is all about, and I'm proud to have Mothers that love like this in my life. That's how we know what love is, that one would lay down their life for another (1 John 3:16 /John 15:13). So thanks should be to God for the gift of mothers...In His infinite wisdom He introduces us into this world in the arms of not only the one that will protect, provide, nurture, educate, and love us, but the one who will give her life for our well being. In fact, "her life" is often given daily. Thanks Revonda, Angela, and Mom! I love you all very much!

What is beauty?

Now seems to be the time of year when people are frantically working to get them self into beach body shape. Since I've been working out at my gym for the past 9 months, I've noticed this gradual increase in members within the last month or so. I assume this sudden increase in the popularity of the gym is due in large part to the fact that swimming suits are starting to come out of the closets. And I must confess, I'm glad I have had my nine month head start this year. There's no doubt I started my new health kick just so I could be healthier, happier, and God willing, be around to watch my children become adults. But I also can not deny my desire to have a healthy looking body, and I wonder if it's my vanity that's truly motivating my discipline. I would venture to say that everybody has this curse that is vanity. And indeed it is a curse! But is the look we all strive for a look that is truly "perfect", or just our "perception of perfection"? What I mean by that is, where is this standard of "beauty" established? I looked up the definition of "beauty" just now and found:

1. the combination of all the qualities of a person or thing that delight the senses and mind
2. a very attractive woman

That's a pretty broad definition (no pun intended). So as I watch all these people (myself included) striving to be recognized as one of the beautiful people, I'm trying to imagine what a world would be like without a "standard" of beauty. I guess I'm trying to imagine Heaven.
Donald Miller wrote a couple of my favorite books: "Blue Like Jazz" and "Searching For God Knows What". If you're looking for reasons why Jesus Christ is relevant to someone living in today society, and you don't see the answers in the typical routines of Sunday morning and Wednesday night church, then I would encourage you to read Donald Miller's books. He helped to start my journey of knowing Jesus the way God wants me to know Jesus, without the barriers (in my mind) of the man made traditions and rituals. I bring up Miller because in one of these books he talks about this idol that is "beauty." But in typical Miller fashion, he looks at the situation from a different perspective. He paints this scenario of a circus show where the main attractions are the people who normally would be outcasts. In fact it's their lack of appeal that makes this circus show so appealing. There's the world's tallest lady, the world's smallest man, the bearded lady, the man with three arms, the 200 lbs. 8 year old..you get the picture. Miller portrays this group as a typical group of people who work together, just like any other group of peers. But he adds to this already established group, a new "circus freak" that begins to steal the show. Let's say the new member has webbed hands and breaths with gills (I can't remember the details of his story). Miller goes on to describe the jealousy and envy the other performers begin to have as this new member is getting all the attention...all the love. They all begin wishing they had the webbed hands and gills. So it doesn't take long for the reader to realize it's not "beauty" we're after, but the attention that comes with "beauty." If having webbed hands and gills brought us love and affirmation, then webbed hands and gills would be our desire. Miller took this whole worldly perception of beauty and identified it for what it actually is: a disconnect from our original source of love and affirmation, a disconnect from God.
So we are definitely cursed in this world of ours, and we will continue to try and cover these "wounds" with band-aids. But maybe we should try and think of each pound of fat, each wrinkle, each gray hair, and the ever growing bald spot as God's gentle reminder that He's drawing us to Him. Drawing us to the place where "beauty" doesn't bring us love, but rather, where the "Love" is the only beauty we need!
BEAUTY = 1. the combination of all the qualities... that delight the senses and mind

Favre in the "Windy City"

Over a month ago I predicted David Cook to win American Idol and all signs point to my prediction being right on. So I'm going to make another prediction just to see if I have special powers! If this one comes true, then I'll be looking at ways to start my own 1-900 phone number to profit off my future telling skills. But until then let me tell you all the way I think Brett Favre's future will pan out.
I think Mike McCarthy (Packer's head coach) wanted Farve to retire. I think this rookie coach didn't want his successes to be credited to Brett Farve. And that's exactly what would happen in any success gained in Green Bay under the leadership of Farve. So I think there was tension in the organization. And I think Farve felt this tension, and "retired" as a result. But he still can play, and he knows he still can play. I think he could easily sign a 3 year deal for probably 8+ million a year. So for him to leave the game, would be him leaving 24+ million sitting on the table. That ain't ESPN analysis' money! I believe he'll entertain offers as soon as Spring training camps are over. And I believe one of the most likely teams to look him up would be the Chicago Bears. So there you have my prediction. I think Farve will take the field this year as a Chicago Bear! That's too good of a story not to pan out. And the NFL knows that would spark some interest, and the NFL is really no more that a glorified circus side show. The game is for our entertainment, and the players are our entertainers. I'm sure Farve knows this role well, and I believe he'll give us the best show he can. Now we just have to sit back and wait...
Wouldn't it be cool to see #4 on a black jersey?