Testimony

I just posted four new pieces of poetry that I put together earlier this year. I've spent a lot of time this year reflecting on my story, this is just part of it put to art. It's called Testimony, feel free to check it out and the rest of the art I posted on the right of the page.

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The Simplicity of Greatness

You know I was in the bathroom today (you know that's where you do all your thinking too) pondering the question, "What is greatness?" Of course, my thoughts on the throne are not always this deep but, at least for today, I was curious what caused great men and women to live the lives they lived. My answer to the question returned me to one of my favorite topics, priorities. It would seem to me that greatness is the wisdom and courage to set your priorities rightly. By rightly I mean that the things the are truly the most important are the things that are actually top of your list. Understanding what is truly important is where wisdom comes in. Courage comes in when actually try to live out our priorities because it will involve challenge. And so, whether or not you like my answer, if you were to ask me why there are so few "great people" in the world and in history I would say this: Most people in our world are neither wise nor couragous, some are one or the other, and very very few are both - and even then its hard to be both all the time. "What a dismal outlook on humanity!?!" you might respond - perhaps, I don't mean it to be but I just wanna be honest about what I see when I walk outside.

It really isn't that dismal though, I believe that greatness is entirely possible for every person, we just don't avail ourselves of the opportunity. I would even go so far as to say its simple - not easy, but simple. Jesus, in fact, made it his business, then and still today, to produce such people. Aside from the all the religous rules and regulations we typically ascribe to the soap box that Jesus stood on, he was really here for one simple purpose: to teach people to set their priorities correctly and give them the courage to live them out. We celebrate his life on Earth because, in it, he modeled what he taught. His priorities motivated him to come and live the life he did and his courage allowed him to live it out, even if it resulted in the cross.

Some people say that great people inspire them because they did what noone else could do. I think that's a pretty dismal thought. I would, rather, like to say that great people inspire me because they show me that greatness is possible. I pray for a world full of people that believe that greatness is possible in their own life. I pray in faith because I believe that will one day happen.

Keeping your "eye on the ball"

Just a short post to share something God told me yesterday. I have had a hard time lately getting my attitude right about certain things that I don't think are going very well. It's an interesting paradox because, in the midst of those few not-so-great things, most of my life is going better than I could have ever imagined. It was this last point that I believe gets lost in my own mind when I'm whinning about some small detail that doesn't go my way. It was during one of these times that I was complaining to God (which is alright to do, don't get the wrong idea) that he told me,

"You must never lose sight of your blessedness."

Like most times that God speaks to me in such a clear fashion, his word is simple but so true. In the midst of trying to make sense of my problems, I cannot cannot cannot forget how blessed I am by God in so many other ways. That's like ditching my life preserver as I'm trying to swim for land (I can't swim, so that would truly suck). Sometimes I feel like I'm almost constantly forgetting how good God is and I wonder if that makes it hard for him to keep being good to me - but that's grace and God can never be anything other than what he is - love. Take some time today with me to remember how much is good about your life. If everyone even tried to do this on a regular basis I think this world would be a very different place.

God and Jack

Okay, so I've discovered the remedy for a crappy attitude:

Step 1: Pray
Step 2: Listen to a Jack Johnson CD (it really doesn't matter which one)
Step 3: Blog about it

Do you ever get the feeling that your job is pointless? I dunno, I guess I just go through these times when I forget all the ways that I'm blessed and choose to dwell on the unfounded and unhelpful thoughts. This afternoon it will take discipline to steer my attitude in a helpful direction but sometimes thats what it takes. Just a short blog to let everyone know I'm still alive - alive and doing better than my blog would portray I promise ;-)