Focusing On Youth

Recently I have been involved in a great Jr. High youth program at riverside community church. I love my role in helping them engage in experiencing God through selfless worship. Singing, praising, and worshiping God are quite possibly the most humbling thing mankind can do, if done properly, in my opinion. Anyway after worship was over I sat in the back with my pen and journal out ready to observe. The topic discussed was, you guessed it, love. How appropriate considering the date. In fact, this whole month is "love month." Now, I usually like to add ice breakers in my blogs, funny instances that come from my experiences but for this one I have none. This time I sat in anger realizing the truth of today and the task that is at hand.
  Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders filled the room with their full undivided attention located to the front of the room. Issues such as, sex, early pregnancy, STD's, pornography, homosexuality, abortion, and divorce were spoken to them. My anger was at its apex, not because these issues were addressed but because they HAVE to be addressed.
  It seems to me that the enemy has realized the importance of focusing on, persuading, and guiding our youth. You look at influential people such as Hitler who also capitalized on the opportunity of speaking and directing the youth of that time. It doesn't take a devil or a world leader to know that the youth of today are what make up the world of tomorrow. Since we all know this very logical truth why do we dance around with our hands on our heads wondering why our world is the way it is. Maybe, just maybe we need to pour more into our youth. Pour our energy, our quality, our time, our diligence, our power, our voice, our lives into our youth. I sat in a room where these harsh issues were being addressed and not one, not one batted an eye... no one was shocked, they have heard it all before. THESE THINGS ARE NORMAL TO THEM.
  It is imperative that we act on this, that we fight against it. It is life altering whether we decide to act. For the sake of them, for the sake of tomorrow. The world is pushing on what seems to them to be a very enticing lifestyle. They are blindly being led down a path of destruction, destruction of themselves, of others, of their planet, and so on. It is about time to make it our goal to help them. Focus, FOCUS on our youth.

The Great Taco Dance

I am now starting to notice, and probably as well as all of you who brave my blogs, that I somehow always end up finding profound messages that apply to my life in what others may dub seemingly mundane situations. Maybe it has to do with the incredibly large sums of time I have to be alone and think. Being alone for long periods of time can be a good thing for this reason. That when you are put back into the slew of people in the world you take notice of things you hadn't before and are able to learn more from them. Hence this blog. I took a hold of a message that was delivered in the best of ways. Who better to learn from than a little foreign boy probably the age of 6 or 7. (which my age guessing should be quite on target, for I worked at a preschool for 5 years.. just adding credibility to the age which I am guessing) Inspiration can come in the unlikeliest of ways from the unlikeliest of people. 

My mother, wonderful sister and I were quite hungry and decided to stop to eat before embarking on the "fun" task that is "shopping." (you can tell right there I have had a lot of alone time since I agreed to do this) Decisions, decisions. It was a tossup between the healthy and nutritious, Panera Bread, or the greasy and delicious Taco Bell. Being the great aware citizens that we are, we decided that it was a no brainer. Taco Bell.

We walked in to this fine eating establishment and to our dismay found the line to be insanely long. This gives aid to two problems. First being I have to stand for a long period of time in a roped-in, line prison, and second, the seating depletes rather quickly. Thus we came to the conclusion that I must place my order with my mom and sis so I could go claim our table territory. I wander around the Taco Bell aimlessly looking for a table that has not already been conquered by weird unrecognizable substances on its surface.

I finally found a seat that was almost up to qualifications, just a couple swipes of a trusty napkin and all was well. Enough of that though... that really has nothing to do with my profound experience. I just find it comical that I, and I bet you, go through this routine every time I eat out at a fast food joint. Anyway.... it was when I found my seat that the experience occurred and the message came to my attention. 

Across the room about 6 yards away from me was a foreign family. Now I cannot say that it is a fact that they were foreign. It was another conjecture made by me. They were of asian descent, carrying cameras recording every moment at a Taco Bell, speaking another language, and sporting shoes with brands I had never seen. Conclusion, visiting foreign tourists. Anyway I am glad they were there and for this very reason. 

This family was awesome. Just the joy that was being expressed by them was inspiring in itself. I was amazed, and staring. What really hit me hard, however, was their little boy. Like I said he was most likely either 6 or 7 and I learned much from him. It was because of him that I now realize I can learn so much from children in general. Its not like I haven't been around kids before either, as I previously mentioned as well. I spent 5 years working at a preschool. I am now realizing I should have spent 5 years learning from a preschool. Anyway this boy has a message that is geared to all and I would like to share it with you. 

I was sitting at my seat and I listened to this boy as he spoke his message to me... he began to dance. Thats it. He danced. That was his message and it was breath taking. Not because he was a good dancer. Not because I somehow think he was filled with the Holy Spirit. It was a breath taking message because... he danced in a Taco Bell at 1 p.m. with probably 30 to 35 people staring at him. Some frowning, some chuckling, some pointing, and some huffing. Nevertheless, he danced. He did not care what other people thought. He did what he was called to do and he fully embraced it. He did not care. He was in his best state of being. Smiling, laughing, clapping... Dancing. As I sit here, and remember this, it's like a movie playing in my head. I am still deeply struck.

This hits me on so many different levels and areas of my world. My christianity, my honesty, my mentality, my life. Its a message I have heard before but not seen in person. The true meaning of the phrase do not let other people's cares or thoughts affect the way you were MEANT to live. Read that last sentence again carefully before you leave comments bashing it. Now I say that in hopes that you know how you are suppose to live. Now if you don't know and care what I think, go ahead and ask me. I will quickly guide you to a book as well as share some of my own personal thoughts. Anyway, I know personally in the past I have let other people's thoughts and opinions guide some of my actions in a negative way. Who hasn't? Those ever so prevalent words, "peer pressure," come to mind. Why do we allow ourselves to be consumed by what others may think? 

I think this boy speaks to everyone. He spoke to me. His dancing literally changed me. I'm hoping you can learn something from it too. If I am constantly wondering what others may think of me I will miss out on a lot. I will miss out on experiences, opportunities, happiness, strength, knowledge, wisdom, life. I know this because I am in the process of making, not yet have 100% made, the change and am already noticing the difference. Try it. Don't care what others think. Live the life you were called and meant to live. Be free. Dance.

Headaches

A little thought. As I sit here in good ol' borders I am thinking. First how stupid this store is for charging for their wireless and second that it doesn't matter that they charge because I can pick up a signal from the Panera Bread next door... fools. Anyway, thats the least of my thoughts. I have had another deep thinking session, again. I was cycling through my day and this is what I got.
  Everything feels slow today. I woke up and felt horrible. It was, and is, my head. I woke up with an extremely painful headache. (maybe you can relate) Now as bad as this headache was, all I had to do was walk twenty steps over to the bathroom, open the cabinet, find the Tylenol, and swallow two. And wouldn't ya know it.... Headache no longer hurt. Granted my whole day was feeling kind of goofy and stuck in slow motion, but the pain was gone due to a cure that was easily available to me. I didn't even think twice about it as I swallowed these two "miracle pills." It just hit me. Wow I am spoiled. I have a headache and I conclude without even thinking that my day is going to be horrible. Lest I forget about that suffering child in Rwanda who has aids due to rape. Lest I forget about the numerous people who were driven from their homes in Darfur. Literally driven away from the one thing that they had. I have a headache.....
  Headache.... seems so small compared to these others. In fact I'm sure those people would love to have just a headache. And it wasn't just the headache but the fact that all I had to do was walk twenty, TWENTY paces to cure it. These people have been crying, dying, for help. Yet they don't get it.
  I'm sure you think I'm taking this a little far.... (does he expect me to think of the world suffering every time something doesn't feel right with me?) No I don't expect that.... I don't do that. I will say this though.... God forgive me.... change my mind.... Bring me to a point of awareness. That is, THAT IS, my prayer

A Candle We Should Not Light

What the heck happened to my weekly blog? I have heard this from mulitple people, thank you Lisa, and I can offer no good explanation except for the fact that I am just another victim fallen to procrastination. So in light of that, and thus realizing that I am indeed a victim to this gay internal conflict, I am shoving this blog in its face. Amen. So now that I have cleared that up, let me tell you about an experience I had pertaining to human emotion and how short my and ultimately all our wicks are leading to the candle of anger.
  We must be slow to anger. Wow have I absolutely destroyed that commandment tonight. This tends to be a common struggle that I have noticed within myself as well as amongst most of humanity. This, however, does not apply to all, which gives me hope, and when I meet these other forms of human I find them to be a breath of fresh air as well as a personal kick to the ***. Heads are probably spinning as of now, but thats ok. Let me give an example that will help give aid to the problem that I am trying to bring to awareness.
Tonight I was spending some time with a couple of close friends, and it was magnificent. We began our evening by going to the mall, which by the way is not a good idea on a friday night due to the mass huddles of "really cool" kids who just..... huddle, followed up by a visit to Barnes and Noble to have a seat and enjoy some starbucks. Fantastic time, I love sitting at the bookstore cafe, the atmosphere is unmatched and when your with friends engaging in delightful conversation, who could ask for a better evening. This, unfortunately, would all soon come to a crashing end all because of the "short wick."
Across the cafe area from us was a man who plainly made me angry. Laptop on table, earbuds in ears, he was flailing around like a prancy time and practically singing out loud. What started as a funny scenario, went to an annoying one, which took a violent leap to me being outraged. Did my friends have any idea that I could not stop watching this man? That I could not help but wish I could go over there and toss his computer into the bushes in the parking lot. I don't think they knew the seriousness of the situation. Alas, my completely unnecessary attitude was recongnized and realized 20 minutes ago. Which is why I am writting this particular experience and this particular blog.
  Why do we humans get so easily angered? You may be thinking, oh I don't get angry easily speak for yourself. Well if you are thinking that I would say first of all I have spoken for myself and following that I would give you a quote I got from a bumper sticker. Your proctologist called, he found your head. We all get angry way too easily. Why do we become sailors when someone pulls out in front of us? Why do we get upheaved when our food takes too long to cook? Why do we turn red at the thought that we will miss our favorite tv show? Why? This really is a problem, and while attempting to solve a problem or while correcting a problem, it first must be recognized. Recognition is the initial key to overcoming any personal barrier or problem. Next must come a desire, and an action, to solve it and ultimately make a change for the better.
I did realize, 20 minutes ago, a lot longer than it shouldve have taken me to know, that i was definitely in the wrong for being angry at this man. He was simply enjoying life. In fact, I learned quite a lot from this man and I am truly grateful he was there doing his thing tonight. We were not created to be ticking time bombs. We were created to embrace each other, and life, in a joyous state. We so often forget this truth. Fight it, fight the short wick living. Throw out the candle completely. Be slow to anger and take a sip of that coffee with a smile.

Stars God's Emitted Light

Let me tell you about a new hobby I have seemed to pick up, I like to call it "gazing."  Thats right, my new hobby is looking at the night sky in all of its beauty.  This all originated one day as I was spending some time with a good friend of mine and boredom was taking over both of us. I am finding that when the things of this modern human earth are no longer grabbing our attention, the word boredom comes to life, and it is when this word, this state of being, begins to take place that we begin to take appreciation in the more simple, common things.  So now that I have come to this realization and i hear someone say "i am bored" I say, lucky you!  Anyway back to the origination of gazing.  Like i said, my friend and I were both bored so we decided that we were going to lay outside and just talk.  Sounds like an activity a bunch of third grade school girls would engage in, you may be thinking right now. Never fear, this thought entered into our heads as well, so the talking did not last very long. Silence soon took over us and for good reason.  We were soon taken captive by the beauty of the clear night sky that was provided for us.  I mean the sky has always been there, I have seen it thousands of times. However, I have never looked at it as I had that night, nor has it ever appeared to me as brilliant as it had that night.  I was overwhelmed, in a marvelous way, by the presence of God.  My friend no longer existed at this point, it was just me, the night sky, and God.  I am sure my friend was feeling the same thing, it was powerful, yet unexplainable.  As I was submerged in this state of complete and utter awe, many new thoughts were rushing into my head.  I was soaked in questions and wonderings, some of which I would like to share with you. 

When asked about the composition of a star, and your opinion on that matter, what is it that comes to your mind?  Do you have the "Timone response?"  That stars are just fireflies, fireflies stuck up in that big blue-ish black thing?  Or do you have that scientific answer, as i had, that they are indeed balls of gas burning millions/billions of miles away?  After my experience the other night, a new thought has entered my mind on the matter.  Not to say the other two answers are false (even though timone's answer is a wee bit far-fetched) or that mine is true, but I thought I would put my ideas into your heads.  And to some of you whose thoughts have been clouded by the world’s preaching of "possibility" remember we are dealing with the Creator of the universe.  Now that we've addressed that here is my brief proposal.

Imagine the possibility of being able to see God's literal light every night!  This was the thought that had entered my head as i was "gazing."  Then it hit me.  What if these balls of gas, these fireflies, these stars are mere illusions to what they truly are?  What if these stars are allowing us to take a glimpse at God's literal light on this earth!  It's not impossible.  I mean from Jesus' birth we find that stars have a huge roll in making mankind aware of  God's existence on earth, whose to say it is not the same today.  It is quite mind rattling if you just let that thought marinate in your mind for a couple of days.  The thought of being able to see God's actual light in something that is just forgotten about and walked under night after night is nothing shy of incredible.  God's light shines through the stars.

This is a personal breakthrough for me.  I make sure i create time to sit outside at night at least twice a week and focus on God as i stare up.  You can connect in a mighty way by looking at God's literal glory.  Give it a try, just "gaze."   

Hope

I have a hopefully brief and simple thought. Tonight, as i spent possibly the last moments with a good friend of mine, i realize that life, people, emotions, are all fragile and sensitive to change. Now this is not new information to me and most likely not to you either, but it was quite evident in my experience tonight. Staring at the face of a 5 year, deep friendship and knowing that it will become a memory, is really devastating to me. Once again to involve you, the reader, i know that you probably have been in the same situation and probably to greater extents. For me, however, i found myself broken and expressionless while faced with this task of saying the simple word goodbye. I am intrigued by how many thoughts flooded my mind in what seemed to be an instant before the last hug was given. Every past experience, story, tradition, memory seemed to tackle me to the point of complete domination. It's like i had an unbreakable chain wrapped around my body, harnessing me, dragging me away from the person who i considered most dear. It's a frightening feeling, and you know the feeling, it's the feeling of complete defeat and abandonment. This is something i had not felt in a long time and really do not wish to feel again. (no surprise there)
I know that at this point you are really not feeling very giddy and are probably wondering why you even opened this blog in the first place. HaHa, and i do not blame you. This experience was bad and frankly just plain depressing. My feelings, however, had changed the second hope entered into the picture.
Hope is the expecting, the believing that something good will happen. In order for the hope to become a reality it must be followed by action. Now hope without action is nothing more than a wish. (speaking in human relations here, spiritual instances are another blog for another day) Not to say wishes don't come true but some form of action must take place for hope to become a reality. So i say that all to say, this is not the end. Situations like the one i listed above are unfortunate but can be overcome. All you need is hope followed by action.