My Writings. My Thoughts.

Tested

// February 22nd, 2010 // 3 Comments » // My Thoughts

A man with his head in his hands

God doesn't need to test us to prove our loyalty...

Why God Why!?   How many times have we asked that question?
even Job asked God what he had done wrong to deserve such treatment.

We often get the wrong idea about personal trials… For some reason we truly believe God wants us to prove how serious we are about serving him… that we are truly committed and not just flakes holding on to an easy out.   But when the trials get seriously difficult we begin to wonder if we are being punished somehow and we begin to question God’s purpose.   Why is it that after ages of reading of the love of the Father for his children and how he wants to bless us and give us abundant lives… we still stoop to the tribal, primitive and downright heathen beliefs that God is a “Man in the sky” that rains down destruction, judgement, and “tests” of our faithfulness.

God knows our hearts inside and out… he doesn’t need to test us to prove our loyalty. But as a loving Father he wants to test us to expose who we really are to ourselves.

We often build up images of ourselves that are quite favorable and help us have great self-worth but what value is our self-worth if we establish it based on lies?  God wants us to discover our true value from his perspective… the trials we endure are for our own good… and they make us stronger and more dependent on him.  So if you find yourself in a tough place begin to look for what your situation is bringing out in you… what it is exposing… and deal with it… the sooner you do, the sooner you will move on and you will see the glory of God being revealed in your life!

Tags: Belief, Faith, financial problems, Tests, Trials, trouble with trouble

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Finding The Strength To Be Radical

// February 19th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // My Life, My Thoughts

Most of the time I feel like an average guy… in fact almost all the time I feel like for some reason or other I actually fall below average… I am petty, egotistical, boisterous, insensitive, and childish. But deep in my heart there is a strong desire to be remarkable… to be above average…to live without the handicaps that I so often place upon myself.  Unfortunately what comes out of me often feels like a lumbering Ox trying to escape a yoke that just does not- seem- to fit!  I look at life in a simplistic manner… it is an adventure…that we should embrace and own in every way… the good and the bad.  But somehow jobs, and rules and societies “norms”, keeping up with the joneses,  comes and steals away the adventure of life.  And we often get convinced that all we really need is a bigger TV, a new vehicle, a better house.  What we don’t realize is that all of those things can form a prison that forces us to take the good paying, stressful jobs that end up sucking the life out of  us…. and we end up as mindless drones cranking out an existence, wondering whatever happened to the spark of life… when do we get to relax?  or better yet how do we relax?  We are so close to multi-tasking ourselves out of existence that we can’t even realize that almost every part of our lives are crumbling around us…It has taken me the better part of 34 years to figure out that all of the things that I thought were important actually don’t matter at all.  Many people talk about being radical but I don’t witness it very often in real life,  I often see people “acting” radical but they only go far enough to make a splash.  I decided a while back that I want out of this rat race lifestyle driven by a never ending hunger for more money and more stuff… I started analyzing my buying habits and my motives for spending money. I decided to get out of debt and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.  But more than that I am finding the strength to be radical in my commitment to become a more focused child of God. I am seeing the benefits of turning my back on materialism and thoughtless living. The further I walk away from the ideals of materialism the more power and authority I gain over my life to actually live in freedom.

So what about you?  have your found the strength to be radical in your life? Have you sacrificed any earthly comforts or amenities to reap spiritual or lifestyle benefits?

Tags: materialism, sacrifice

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The Safe Word

// February 18th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // My Life

Kim and I are a bit eccentric in the relationship department and we often find ingenious ways to avoid the common pitfalls in relationships.  One common problem in most relationships is getting all bent out of shape and yelling at each other… (don’t you dare act like it has never happened!)  Recently when we realized that we were becoming a little harsh with each other we devised a foolproof plan to stop the argument.  We decided to use a “safe word” to let each other know when we were feeling upset and needed relief.  I suggested Supercalafragalisticexpialidotious  for several reasons

  1. I have yet to use it in everyday conversation
  2. it is extraordinarily long and hard to say… thus hard to ignore or miss.
  3. I was at a loss to figure out a proper safe word.

There is one unforseen side effect of using Supercalafragalisticexpialidotious as a safe word…. it sabotages arguments!  no matter how mad you are or frustrated or not listening…. when someone blurts out Supercalafragalisticexpialidotious  it is impossible to keep a straight face… much less fall out laughing on the floor… try it! let me know how long your arguments last!

Tags: Family, Fighting

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Internet Addiction…America’s New Dysfunction

// February 3rd, 2010 // 10 Comments » // My Thoughts

I have heard of bizarre cases of internet addiction in China… and even that there are some pretty harsh boot camps in China to deal with internet addicts.  The odd thing is that the addicts respond in every way exactly like any other addict would when they are deprived of the object of their addiction.   It seems that the reality of internet addiction or “Excessive Internet use” is upon us… and is actually linked to depression.

Excessive Internet use is linked to depression

People who spend a lot of time browsing the net are more likely to show depressive symptoms, according to the first large-scale study of its kind in the West by University of Leeds psychologists.

To me this is a serious wake up call because I spend an incredible amount of time on the internet… (like right now writing this post!)  The reality is that we are slowly trading the personal interactions of the real world for the sterile transactions of the virtual world… No matter how we polish it,  the internet is slowly disconnecting us from the reality of our lives.    As we further disconnect from reality our morals and ethics become less important or even relevant to us because … after all … its not real! right?

In my head it feels like I have somehow looked into the face of advancing technology and seen too far… too far for comfort at least… and all I want to do is walk away… partly because I am beginning to recognize the intrinsic value of  life… inconvenience… and even Oranges… and partly because I have a very real feeling that in the not too far distant future possibly within in the next generation… that we will be struggling to retain our humanity as we become less connected to the physical world around us and more connected to more interesting “virtual” realities.

Getting back to the subject… statistics show that a good majority of our country is clinically depressed and rather than going after the key causes of depression we often choose to continue our lifestyles and sidestep the issue with medication.  I am not condemning the use of medication for the treatment of depression. I actually took Lexapro for a year myself for depression/anxiety.  My point is more that we cannot ignore the drivers that are creating the condition of depression in so many people!

  • How do we move forward as Christians in an increasingly disconnected society where social interaction is so sterile?
  • How can we deal with technology like the internet that is so addictive?

What do you think about this?

Tags: addictions, depression, internet addiction

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I want that!!

// February 2nd, 2010 // No Comments » // My Favorites

I was recently pointed to this gem of a video from http://www.activeword.org and I have to say this guy hits the nail on the head! Preach it brother!

H6UN3PPD96ZH

Tags: advertising, Christianity, sin

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Site Redesign

// January 30th, 2010 // No Comments » // My Life

Well I took the time to redesign this week, hope this format is more readable and interesting to everyone… feel free to let me know what you think!

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