interstate 85
this morning a blue acura TL merged onto I-85. there was a blonde girl at the wheel. as she merged onto the interstate she entered the far right lane. it was a decent lane. smooth pavement. wouldn't disappear for a few miles. her speedometer read somewhere around 65 miles per hour. 65, however, wasn't quite fast enough. there was a car in front of her. she began changing lanes to the left. about that time i saw blue in my peripheral vision. by the time i turned my head her mirror was about two inches from my door. i quickly turned my wheel, entering the lane to my left. she noticed at the same moment, and curved back into her lane. i had a hunch she knew what almost happened. mainly because the rest of my drive, she stayed about three car lengths behind me.
was i angry? not really, i make stupid mistakes while driving too. i was disturbed. primarily because my gut-instinct reaction was wrong. to prevent her from hitting my car i swerved out of the way. the thought of 'what if' entered my mind.
what if there had been a car in my left lane?
she changed lanes slowly. slow enough that i could react. i changed lanes fast. too fast for someone to avoid me. ironically enough, my reaction was potentially worse than the error causing me to react. and we were both guilty of the same fault: changing lanes without looking.
sometimes i find myself in a situation with no good options. i can choose A or B, but neither one offers me the ease i desire. legally, i should have just let her hit me. i could have honked my horn (for some reason, i never do. it just doesn't occur to me that's what a horn is for), but i shouldn't have changed the direction of my car in any way. if she had hit me, it would have been her fault, and hopefully i wouldn't go spinning out of control. that option stinks for obvious reasons. no one wants to get sideswiped going 65 down the interstate. the other option was what i chose, but it had potential to cause more damage to my car than letting the acura hit me, and it would have been my fault.
these situations crop up every now and then, and i was reminded this morning that ultimately, when it's all said and done, even when we make bad decisions, God is still capable of working them together for good.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
romans 8:28
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
christ is my spotter
last night i was at the gym lifting weights. it was about 9 pm--the time when only serious lifters remain--and i'm doing the bench press with individual dumbbells. i had already done two sets, so i was pretty tired, but my third and hardest set still remained. i laid back on the bench with the bells on my chest, then lifting them up, i proceeded to bench...1...2...
rep 3 proved too heavy. i lifted maybe 20% of the way up and then hit the glass ceiling. the bells wouldn't go any higher, no matter how much more blood flowed to the already over-capacitated veins in my head. i was at my limit.
then the amazing happened.
a man i had seen earlier doing a similar exercise--but with much heavier weights--grabs my arms and yells "PUSH IT!" adrenaline pumped. i had a new confidence. with his help, up they went...3...4...5...6. he didn't make it easy, mind you. i needed it to be hard. but he added the strength i needed to finish, and finish well.
as the bells finally hit the ground, i looked up and said a simple "thanks". he doesn't know this, but christ made an unexpected visit to the gym last night.
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 corinthians 12:9
in the gym, when you know you're going to be lifting to the point of exhaustion, you grab a partner and you say "spot me". the spotter's job is to make sure you don't kill yourself, and if he's good, he'll push you more--adding strength you don't have. sometimes i see guys lifting without spotters--like i did last night--and i think about how pride keeps us from asking for a spotter. we don't want to admit we need the help. we can do it...wait...no, we can't.
it's the point in our lives when we are pushing as hard as we can, but we've hit the point of complete muscle failure...the glass ceiling. jesus loves it when we hit this point because it's our first realization of our dependence on Him. he is glorified (acknowledged for who He is) when we "can't". beautiful.
spot me, Jesus.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
benefit of the doubt
i desire to be understood. i think it's one of my strengths. it drives me to write and speak as clearly as i can. it causes me to think a lot about what i do, say, and think. intentionality.
"i like you." (for example)
it's also one of my biggest weaknesses. when i'm not understood it frustrates me. to the point that i will attempt to explain until there are no words left to use. then i'll try rearranging words. put them in a different order. maybe that will help.
"you like i" no that doesn't help. rarely does it.
i can hardly sit still when someone misunderstands me. my mom says i should give people the benefit of the doubt. i take that to mean i should assume they are smart enough to get what i mean. they'll figure it out.
when i really think about it, it's a faith issue. can God really work it out even if i'm not understood? will the world really keep spinning? yeah, it will robby. believe it or not. jesus was misunderstood. big time. lots of times. but then again, i think that frustrated him too...but of course, if you misunderstand jesus, your world might actually stop spinning...
i desire to be understood. i think it's one of my strengths. it drives me to write and speak as clearly as i can. it causes me to think a lot about what i do, say, and think. intentionality.
"i like you." (for example)
it's also one of my biggest weaknesses. when i'm not understood it frustrates me. to the point that i will attempt to explain until there are no words left to use. then i'll try rearranging words. put them in a different order. maybe that will help.
"you like i" no that doesn't help. rarely does it.
i can hardly sit still when someone misunderstands me. my mom says i should give people the benefit of the doubt. i take that to mean i should assume they are smart enough to get what i mean. they'll figure it out.
when i really think about it, it's a faith issue. can God really work it out even if i'm not understood? will the world really keep spinning? yeah, it will robby. believe it or not. jesus was misunderstood. big time. lots of times. but then again, i think that frustrated him too...but of course, if you misunderstand jesus, your world might actually stop spinning...
weight gainer
in an effort to bulk up my body a bit, i've started drinking a weight gainer shake after i work out. if i have a full serving, the shake provides 1850 calories full of vitamins, minerals, carbs, and of course, PROTEIN. it's kind of like drinking chocolate concrete mix. mmm mmm good.
my muscular roommate made the comment, "people think they can get big just by lifting weights, but if you're not putting the right foods in your body, hard weight lifting will only tear your body apart." (right now my roommates are all arguing over whose the "muscular" one...) i've been told if i eat and work out correctly, i can put ten pounds of muscle on my body in twelve weeks!
there's a phrase i've just recently been introduced to..."weightier christian". i want to be a weightier christian. unmoveable. deep roots. solid foundation. my physical regiment tells me that if i'm to become a weightier christian it'll take a combination of filling my body with the right food (truth, scripture), and hard core exercising (applying the knowledge i've stored up).
and just as it is with physical strength building, i won't see a difference on a daily basis. when i look in the mirror with my shirt off each morning (come on, you know you do it too), my pecs don't really look that much bigger...but i bet if i didn't take my shirt off for three months, i would notice a measurable difference when i finally did (and i bet i'd stink a little too!).
"Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?" 1 corinthians 3:1-3
in an effort to bulk up my body a bit, i've started drinking a weight gainer shake after i work out. if i have a full serving, the shake provides 1850 calories full of vitamins, minerals, carbs, and of course, PROTEIN. it's kind of like drinking chocolate concrete mix. mmm mmm good.
my muscular roommate made the comment, "people think they can get big just by lifting weights, but if you're not putting the right foods in your body, hard weight lifting will only tear your body apart." (right now my roommates are all arguing over whose the "muscular" one...) i've been told if i eat and work out correctly, i can put ten pounds of muscle on my body in twelve weeks!
there's a phrase i've just recently been introduced to..."weightier christian". i want to be a weightier christian. unmoveable. deep roots. solid foundation. my physical regiment tells me that if i'm to become a weightier christian it'll take a combination of filling my body with the right food (truth, scripture), and hard core exercising (applying the knowledge i've stored up).
and just as it is with physical strength building, i won't see a difference on a daily basis. when i look in the mirror with my shirt off each morning (come on, you know you do it too), my pecs don't really look that much bigger...but i bet if i didn't take my shirt off for three months, i would notice a measurable difference when i finally did (and i bet i'd stink a little too!).
"Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?" 1 corinthians 3:1-3
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
prison
the office building i work in blocks all internet traffic to email websites. this means gmail, yahoo, and hotmail are all blocked. luckily for me, however, there's the slightest wireless signal coming in through the walls, probably from an apartment complex next door. seriously, on days when i am insanely bored at work, gmail is the only thing that keeps me sane. imagine, if you will, being in a prison cell with only one tiny window. every now and then you press your mouth up to the window to get a single breath of fresh air. just enough to allow you to continue a little while longer.
yesterday the wireless disappeared. all hope left me. fear of insanity crept over. it was like someone bricking in the single tiny window that allowed me to breathe. oh, the agony!
then i rebooted, and it worked again. i said a prayer in thanksgiving.
the office building i work in blocks all internet traffic to email websites. this means gmail, yahoo, and hotmail are all blocked. luckily for me, however, there's the slightest wireless signal coming in through the walls, probably from an apartment complex next door. seriously, on days when i am insanely bored at work, gmail is the only thing that keeps me sane. imagine, if you will, being in a prison cell with only one tiny window. every now and then you press your mouth up to the window to get a single breath of fresh air. just enough to allow you to continue a little while longer.
yesterday the wireless disappeared. all hope left me. fear of insanity crept over. it was like someone bricking in the single tiny window that allowed me to breathe. oh, the agony!
then i rebooted, and it worked again. i said a prayer in thanksgiving.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Glorify? Huh?
I've often been confused about the word "glorify". To say, "they glorified God." What does that mean? What does it mean to glorify God? Can we humans really give God more glory than He already has? Can we actually take some glory away from God? That would give us an awful lot of power, don't you think? Does God need us to glorify Him at all? To me, the word "glorify" carries with it the connotation that we are adding a quantifiable substance (here, glory) to a pool of glory that God is in possession of. So then when we praise Him we put more glory in that pool and when we are sinful we take some glory out of that pool.
After researching the Greek I think this is where English has failed me. Perhaps a better word to use is "acknowledge". The word "glorify" in Greek is "doxazo" (δοξάζω Strong's 1392). One of the meanings is "to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged." I replaced it with "acknowledge" (or one of its derivatives i.e. acknowledged, etc) in each verse where the word "doxazo" is used. The verses made more sense to me than they ever had before. Here's an example:
"WOW God! You have more glory in your pool than I can possibly comprehend!"
Think about it and consider how this line of thinking might affect things.
After researching the Greek I think this is where English has failed me. Perhaps a better word to use is "acknowledge". The word "glorify" in Greek is "doxazo" (δοξάζω Strong's 1392). One of the meanings is "to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged." I replaced it with "acknowledge" (or one of its derivatives i.e. acknowledged, etc) in each verse where the word "doxazo" is used. The verses made more sense to me than they ever had before. Here's an example:
54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ John 8:54 (ESV)Now replace it with the word "acknowledge":
54 Jesus answered, “If I acknowledge myself, my acknowledgement is nothing. It is my Father who acknowledges me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ (Robby's translation, I guess)Based on these thoughts my point is this: I don't think we can add to or take away any glory from God's pool...regardless of what we do, think, say, or believe. I think when we "glorify God", as it says in our English translations, we are actually acknowledging the glory God already has and deserves.
"WOW God! You have more glory in your pool than I can possibly comprehend!"
Think about it and consider how this line of thinking might affect things.
Friday, February 10, 2006
whack dating
the christian dating culture is askew. let me tell you why. this is the story i hear from both sides over
and over
and over
again.
guys don't ask girls out. (i'll get to the "reason" in a moment.) girls complain that guys don't ask them out, and rightfully so, because guys don't. a guy decides, despite the "reason" (still to-be-defined), that he will ask a girl out because she intrigues him...mind you, not necessarily because he is interested in her on a romantic level. guy asks girl out. since guys don't ask girls out in general, girl figures guy must really like her. this scares girl. too much, too fast in her mind. girl assumes guy has major intentions and the "reason" happens. drama. girl either...
a) turns guy down immediately
b) goes on date but doesn't have very good time because she's too concerned about guy's intentions
either option further facilitates original statement: guys don't ask girls out.
an exception to this (perhaps THE exception to this) is if the girl likes the guy before he asks her out. in which case, neither "a" or "b" take place, but rather an unusual "c", whereby the girl goes on the date excitedly.
so, the question might be asked, "what caused this culture, robby?" and i would then give my theory..."the ever-so-popular gospel that one shouldn't date unless they are pursuing marriage."
now, before you Christian-non-daters freak out at me, let me unpack that statement. the point of that gospel is to prevent someone from wasting his (or her) time and, more importantly, making an idol of girl after girl after girl and getting their heart broken time and time and time again. but, as we people tend to do, we've taken what is a good principle and taken it to the extreme. now, the guy thinks, "i shouldn't ask a girl out unless i'm sure she's The One" and the girl thinks, "i should turn down the date unless i think he might be The One". the end result is we begin seeing people for who they could be, rather than who they are.
guys, why not take a girl out to make her feel special, and show her a good time? don't worry about what she could be...just enjoy who she is. if she could be, and she's meant to be, then she will be without you having to worry about it. girls, same principle. an acorn grows into an oak tree without worrying about how...it just happens...that's how God made it.
i think the marriage pursuit is an active-passive deal. actively, you desire it, pray for it, and take steps you believe might lead to it (in faith). passively, you wait for it, knowing that in the big picture it's way more about God doing something in another person's heart than about anything you can control.
the christian dating culture is askew. let me tell you why. this is the story i hear from both sides over
and over
and over
again.
guys don't ask girls out. (i'll get to the "reason" in a moment.) girls complain that guys don't ask them out, and rightfully so, because guys don't. a guy decides, despite the "reason" (still to-be-defined), that he will ask a girl out because she intrigues him...mind you, not necessarily because he is interested in her on a romantic level. guy asks girl out. since guys don't ask girls out in general, girl figures guy must really like her. this scares girl. too much, too fast in her mind. girl assumes guy has major intentions and the "reason" happens. drama. girl either...
a) turns guy down immediately
b) goes on date but doesn't have very good time because she's too concerned about guy's intentions
either option further facilitates original statement: guys don't ask girls out.
an exception to this (perhaps THE exception to this) is if the girl likes the guy before he asks her out. in which case, neither "a" or "b" take place, but rather an unusual "c", whereby the girl goes on the date excitedly.
so, the question might be asked, "what caused this culture, robby?" and i would then give my theory..."the ever-so-popular gospel that one shouldn't date unless they are pursuing marriage."
now, before you Christian-non-daters freak out at me, let me unpack that statement. the point of that gospel is to prevent someone from wasting his (or her) time and, more importantly, making an idol of girl after girl after girl and getting their heart broken time and time and time again. but, as we people tend to do, we've taken what is a good principle and taken it to the extreme. now, the guy thinks, "i shouldn't ask a girl out unless i'm sure she's The One" and the girl thinks, "i should turn down the date unless i think he might be The One". the end result is we begin seeing people for who they could be, rather than who they are.
guys, why not take a girl out to make her feel special, and show her a good time? don't worry about what she could be...just enjoy who she is. if she could be, and she's meant to be, then she will be without you having to worry about it. girls, same principle. an acorn grows into an oak tree without worrying about how...it just happens...that's how God made it.
i think the marriage pursuit is an active-passive deal. actively, you desire it, pray for it, and take steps you believe might lead to it (in faith). passively, you wait for it, knowing that in the big picture it's way more about God doing something in another person's heart than about anything you can control.
Friday, February 03, 2006
objective: to enjoy what i do.
the store my roommate works at was closing and so, being the diligent man he is, he updated his resume and began passing them out to various potential employers. as any well-organized resume does, his resume gave his personal objective at the top: "to enjoy what i do". how profound, and obvious, yet so few people actually do it.
he told me, "if they can't offer me that, i'm not interested." stick it to the man, roomie!
the store my roommate works at was closing and so, being the diligent man he is, he updated his resume and began passing them out to various potential employers. as any well-organized resume does, his resume gave his personal objective at the top: "to enjoy what i do". how profound, and obvious, yet so few people actually do it.
he told me, "if they can't offer me that, i'm not interested." stick it to the man, roomie!
Thursday, February 02, 2006
men at work
half the elevators in the building where i work are under construction. this means when i click the down button, half the time the doors open the elevator is already full and there's no room for me. at lunch today i managed to squeeze on. the guy next to me says, "worst commute in atlanta...georgia 400 to marta to these elevators...i can't get to my desk! every one of them is under construction." i thought i had it bad.
half the elevators in the building where i work are under construction. this means when i click the down button, half the time the doors open the elevator is already full and there's no room for me. at lunch today i managed to squeeze on. the guy next to me says, "worst commute in atlanta...georgia 400 to marta to these elevators...i can't get to my desk! every one of them is under construction." i thought i had it bad.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
poopy
my trip to seattle started out poopy. literally. i had a serious case of the "hershey squirts". i woke up at 6:30 sunday morning, my stomach rolling over and over. i was to catch a flight at 6:45 that evening to seattle. a five-hour flight. ugh.
i debated cancelling and spending the week at home, but eventually decided to just drug up with immodium, advil, and pepto bismol. problem solved. i was clogged for about two days after that.
so tomorrow is day 3 of my seattle adventure. i'm here for training. i'm learning a lot about the culture of my company, about how to resolve conflict, about teamwork, and tonight i learned about cooking. i spent 3 hours at a cooking school creating dishes such as sweet beignets, gnocchi, and beef and mushroom papillotes.
yesterday i drank a caramel macchiato from the world's first starbucks, stood underneath the space needle, and saw mount rainier from a far distance. not to mention i saw jacob moody, a friend from college i hadn't seen in almost 3 years.
i'm spent. so i'm going to hop in my king-size bed with the oh-so-plush pillows and bid adieu.
my trip to seattle started out poopy. literally. i had a serious case of the "hershey squirts". i woke up at 6:30 sunday morning, my stomach rolling over and over. i was to catch a flight at 6:45 that evening to seattle. a five-hour flight. ugh.
i debated cancelling and spending the week at home, but eventually decided to just drug up with immodium, advil, and pepto bismol. problem solved. i was clogged for about two days after that.
so tomorrow is day 3 of my seattle adventure. i'm here for training. i'm learning a lot about the culture of my company, about how to resolve conflict, about teamwork, and tonight i learned about cooking. i spent 3 hours at a cooking school creating dishes such as sweet beignets, gnocchi, and beef and mushroom papillotes.
yesterday i drank a caramel macchiato from the world's first starbucks, stood underneath the space needle, and saw mount rainier from a far distance. not to mention i saw jacob moody, a friend from college i hadn't seen in almost 3 years.
i'm spent. so i'm going to hop in my king-size bed with the oh-so-plush pillows and bid adieu.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
here i list a few quotes that have motivated, inspired, and encouraged me over the past couple weeks...
"'Almost' carries no weight, especially in matters of the heart." -charles dickens
"Small hinges swing big doors." -anonymous
"This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it." -ralph waldo emerson
a comment on this last one. it's my favorite quote of all time (that i've read). i read this quote in my 11th grade english class as it was placed under the chapter heading of my textbook. it hit me like a bolt of lightning. for the first time in my life i realized every new moment holds the same potential as the last. whether that potential is realized is largely determined by how i choose to spend my time. live intentionally.
"'Almost' carries no weight, especially in matters of the heart." -charles dickens
"Small hinges swing big doors." -anonymous
"This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it." -ralph waldo emerson
a comment on this last one. it's my favorite quote of all time (that i've read). i read this quote in my 11th grade english class as it was placed under the chapter heading of my textbook. it hit me like a bolt of lightning. for the first time in my life i realized every new moment holds the same potential as the last. whether that potential is realized is largely determined by how i choose to spend my time. live intentionally.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
spiritual streaking
throughout my christian life, i've always been told, "don't be a spiritual streaker." by this my instructor meant, don't divulge my most intimate struggles, desires, etc to anyone and everyone who will listen.
i think i've done pretty well so far. but lately i've had some experiences with people that make me question that seemingly wise ultimatum.
every time i go downtown for homeless ministry i meet guys who tell me about huge struggles they're having. not necessarily because i ask them, just because they are broken guys. they tell me about issues that, were i struggling with them, i don't think i'd have the guts to tell anyone.
these are the types of people i believe will fill the kingdom. the ones who know they struggle, and are so broken, they'll be honest with anyone and everyone. conventional wisdom aside, they don't own a mask. they don't own much of anything. but they know they need help, they just don't know where to get it.
one thing i know for sure...they are authentic people.
ok, so there's two extremes here:
hiding everything, not being authentic with anyone. vs. telling everyone everything about you. it's an intricate balance. hiding everything destroys community, and prevents you from experiencing the grace God has for you. but if the community isn't ready to handle it, streaking can send you packing. what's more, there's another dimension involving what's permissible to share with the opposite sex! finding the right middle ground is key, and i think it requires living intentionally.
all things considered, it's no wonder i sometimes find myself tipping the balance.
favorites
i've been a lot of places. costa rica, australia, south africa, taiwan, turkey, italy, greece, switzerland, france, cuba, alaska...not to mention lots of other places in the U.S. but my favorite place on the entire globe is the outer banks of north carolina. specifically ocracoke island.
it is quaint, secluded, natural, and pristine. i'd have a hard time choosing beach over mountains most of the time, unless you throw ocracoke in the mix. see, i love hiking, camping, campfires, smores, stars...and while ocracoke doesn't have much in the way of hiking, it does have the other outdoorsy things. You can camp in the dunes, have campfires on the beach, and gaze at the milky way all at the same time. then, in the morning, climb out of your sleeping bag and head down to the ocracoke coffee shop for some lox and bagels, with a side of yogurt, fresh berries, and granola.
yeah, you know what i'm talking about. ;)
here's my friend julia getting her fill at ocracoke.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
an observation
why is it, when we see others going through pain, we can say wholeheartedly "I am praying for you..." which is in itself a statement expressing some amount of faith in the sovereignty and love of God, yet when we experience pain ourselves, lean to doubt God all around? some people even go so far as to say, "there is no God." (when, in reality, they are just angry at Him and don't know how to express it)
i haven't experienced a wealth of suffering to bring forth wisdom from, but from an outside-looking-in perspective, an observation...
the temptation in pain is to become selfish. gasp.
what i mean is, for some reason, my faith isn't shaken until it's the ground under me that appears to be giving way. as long as it's the ground under you, i can praise God all day long. yeah, that's called selfishness.
this reality makes the story of job that much more remarkable. figure this one out...after job's cattle are slaughtered, his servants murdered, and his children killed in a horrific natural disaster, he is able to make what i believe is the most astounding statement of faith in the Good Book.
"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;" (job 13:15)
i sit astounded.
why is it, when we see others going through pain, we can say wholeheartedly "I am praying for you..." which is in itself a statement expressing some amount of faith in the sovereignty and love of God, yet when we experience pain ourselves, lean to doubt God all around? some people even go so far as to say, "there is no God." (when, in reality, they are just angry at Him and don't know how to express it)
i haven't experienced a wealth of suffering to bring forth wisdom from, but from an outside-looking-in perspective, an observation...
the temptation in pain is to become selfish. gasp.
what i mean is, for some reason, my faith isn't shaken until it's the ground under me that appears to be giving way. as long as it's the ground under you, i can praise God all day long. yeah, that's called selfishness.
this reality makes the story of job that much more remarkable. figure this one out...after job's cattle are slaughtered, his servants murdered, and his children killed in a horrific natural disaster, he is able to make what i believe is the most astounding statement of faith in the Good Book.
"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;" (job 13:15)
i sit astounded.
Monday, January 02, 2006
gossip-squashers unite!
i used to worry what people thought about me. i mean, i still do sometimes, but not nearly as much as i used to. i remember riding beside my mom in the car. i was about 10. i was telling her about some situation i was in and how worried i was about what some other person thought about me (in hindsight, it was probably a girl, but i don't really remember). her response was simply this, "robby, we wouldn't worry about what people thought about us if we knew how little they did." my mom was always good at keeping me grounded. she's taught me that life is usually a matter of perspective. change your perspective, and everything that seemed such a big deal usually disappears in minuteness.
gossip has hurt a friend of mine. fortunately, i was not the cause of the pain, i was simply an ear to listen. here's the situation...and don't worry, i'm going to stay as general as i need to, so that i'm not gossiping...
person "A" told person "B" that he (person "A") probably would not do "something." person "B" interpreted this to mean "A" definitely would not do "something." two months later, person "A" did "something". cue gossip. "B" found out about it when person "C" and "D" were talking about it at the lunch table. then "B" called "A" a hypocrite in front of several other persons ("E", "F", and "G"...i'm "G"). it's okay if you need to draw a diagram.
person "A" divulged how hurt he was to me, and now i'm blogging about how bad gossip is. get it?
now, i'm of the opinion that i cannot control what people say about me. i've worried about it a lot in my past, but today i'm comforted by the fact that as bad as the gossip may get about me, i'm certainly a lot worse than that. call me a whore...i'd agree. isn't that the point of the gospel, that even though every inclination of my heart is evil all the time, Christ has redeemed me? yes, it is.
but, a lot of people do not have this perspective, and the reality of gossip is, it tears community apart limb from limb. the closer and tighter the community, the worse gossip hurts.
i think there's a serious misconception about the nature of gossip. i used to think gossip was equivalent to slander. that is, falsely putting people down. nope. gossip covers a lot more ground than that.
webster says gossip is....
"a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others", "rumor or report of an intimate nature", "a chatty talk"
in other words, unnecessary talk about others is gossip.
nip it. nip it good.
i encourage you to be proactive about stopping gossip when you hear it. me and some friends were playing the cardgame Nertz one night when two guys started bashing another guy who wasn't there. another person said, "guys, let's talk about something else. i don't like talking about ____ when he's not here to defend himself." the guy who started the talk squirmed in his seat. it was the awkwardness of knowing he was in the wrong and someone had just called him out, mixed with the pride of not wanting to admit it.
you don't have to be so frank about it. simply change the subject. it's easy to do. join the movement of gossip-squashers across the world.
i used to worry what people thought about me. i mean, i still do sometimes, but not nearly as much as i used to. i remember riding beside my mom in the car. i was about 10. i was telling her about some situation i was in and how worried i was about what some other person thought about me (in hindsight, it was probably a girl, but i don't really remember). her response was simply this, "robby, we wouldn't worry about what people thought about us if we knew how little they did." my mom was always good at keeping me grounded. she's taught me that life is usually a matter of perspective. change your perspective, and everything that seemed such a big deal usually disappears in minuteness.
gossip has hurt a friend of mine. fortunately, i was not the cause of the pain, i was simply an ear to listen. here's the situation...and don't worry, i'm going to stay as general as i need to, so that i'm not gossiping...
person "A" told person "B" that he (person "A") probably would not do "something." person "B" interpreted this to mean "A" definitely would not do "something." two months later, person "A" did "something". cue gossip. "B" found out about it when person "C" and "D" were talking about it at the lunch table. then "B" called "A" a hypocrite in front of several other persons ("E", "F", and "G"...i'm "G"). it's okay if you need to draw a diagram.
person "A" divulged how hurt he was to me, and now i'm blogging about how bad gossip is. get it?
now, i'm of the opinion that i cannot control what people say about me. i've worried about it a lot in my past, but today i'm comforted by the fact that as bad as the gossip may get about me, i'm certainly a lot worse than that. call me a whore...i'd agree. isn't that the point of the gospel, that even though every inclination of my heart is evil all the time, Christ has redeemed me? yes, it is.
but, a lot of people do not have this perspective, and the reality of gossip is, it tears community apart limb from limb. the closer and tighter the community, the worse gossip hurts.
i think there's a serious misconception about the nature of gossip. i used to think gossip was equivalent to slander. that is, falsely putting people down. nope. gossip covers a lot more ground than that.
webster says gossip is....
"a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others", "rumor or report of an intimate nature", "a chatty talk"
in other words, unnecessary talk about others is gossip.
nip it. nip it good.
i encourage you to be proactive about stopping gossip when you hear it. me and some friends were playing the cardgame Nertz one night when two guys started bashing another guy who wasn't there. another person said, "guys, let's talk about something else. i don't like talking about ____ when he's not here to defend himself." the guy who started the talk squirmed in his seat. it was the awkwardness of knowing he was in the wrong and someone had just called him out, mixed with the pride of not wanting to admit it.
you don't have to be so frank about it. simply change the subject. it's easy to do. join the movement of gossip-squashers across the world.
Monday, December 19, 2005
breathe regularly
my discipleship group is doing a triathlon together in may. we talked about it tonight around the dinner table. we're probably going to break up into 3 teams of 3 people. that means, on each team, one person will swim, one will bike, and one will run. i'm going to be a swimmer.
i've done a couple triathlons before and i love them. what a monumental challenge. from a physical standpoint, it works pretty much the entire body. your muscles are built up, stretched, broken down, and built up again until you peak on race day. mentally, you have to convince yourself that the training is worth the end result. training is tough, and takes some discipline, but the high of crossing the finish line with my hands up in the air and the crowd cheering is one of the best all-around emotions i've ever felt.
then there's the spiritual side of it. the apostle paul wrote a lot about that in his letters. that is, about athletes competing in races. i didn't really get the connection until i competed.
tonight around the dinner table i made the comment, "the hardest part about swimming is breathing." it sounded rather elementary, i admit, and i got some awkward glances at the time, but i was serious. you can swim a long way if you know when and how to breath.
stroke, stroke, breathe.....stroke, stroke, breathe.....stroke, stroke, breathe
that's bilateral swimming. you stroke with your right, stroke with your left, breathe on your right side as you stroke with your right again. then you stroke with your left, stroke with your right, and then breathe on your left side as you stroke with your left. repeat. get it?
later on, someone else connected the comment spiritually. he said, "what a great word-picture." the essence is this: we're in this pool (culture), trying to be Christ's tools; He's using us to redeem culture, and the hardest part about swimming in this pool is breathing--making sure we regularly and repeatedly come up for the fresh, clean, pure air of God's presence that allows us to keep swimming.
i loved the image. i know the agony of being underwater, pushing through the current as hard as i can, and skipping a crucial breath. it hurts. and what's worse, i have to slow down--maybe stop--as my lungs squeeze out their last. going vertical in the water, i gasp deeply for air. i also know the spiritual agony of pushing full speed, only to run out of breath and need a huge gasp.
not only does it hurt, it is highly inefficient and ineffective. it's an encouragement to me to maintain a rhythmic, regular time with God. so i share it with you.
go for a walk
"at the Lord's command they encamped, and at the Lord's command they set out." (numbers 9:23)
the context of the above verse is this...the israelites are in the wilderness after God used moses to deliver them from egypt. God has told them how the tabernacle is to be handled and moses talks with God regularly in the tent of meeting. God places a cloud over the tabernacle. during the evening the cloud looked like fire. whenever the cloud lifted from the tabernacle, the israelites would set out, and whenever it settled, the israelites encamped.
after reading this i began thinking about how marvelous it must have been to be in such close communion with God. i mean, can you imagine being moses and audibly hearing God's voice? and then to see so clearly what God's will was. just watch the cloud. up it goes, let's start walking...down it settles, let's stay here a while.
how i yearn for that cloud sometimes...not just to clearly see God's direction, but to rest assured that He is intricately involved in every decision i make. i so desperately want to be intentional about making God-oriented decisions.
craziest thing about this though is that i AM in communion with God. thru Christ, God is closer than the nearest tent of meeting. i can feel Him in my mind and in my heart, moving around, cleaning up shop...believe me, there's a lot of cleaning to do!
my experience.
this may not be how God works with you, but let me tell you how i tend to know He works with me. it has everything to do with the verse, "since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
i will feel a slight prodding of my heart to do something (take a step). it may be something as small as a hunch, but i feel it and i know i feel it. it's the Spirit urging me to do it, and i can resist (stay here), or i can act (step). if i act, i become more sensitive to the next time i'm prodded to do something, but if i resist, i become slightly more calloused--largely because i stop trusting the "hunch". it will be a little harder to feel it next time.
like a dance. the first time two people dance together, there's a lot of toe stomping (at least with me), but after a lifetime of dances, i think they'd both be a lot more sensitive to the other's movements. the slightest nudge of the hand turns into an intricate and beautiful twirl across the wood floor.
i'm hoping that after a lifetime of keeping in step with the Spirit, i'll be a lot more sensitive to its movements.
"at the Lord's command they encamped, and at the Lord's command they set out." (numbers 9:23)
the context of the above verse is this...the israelites are in the wilderness after God used moses to deliver them from egypt. God has told them how the tabernacle is to be handled and moses talks with God regularly in the tent of meeting. God places a cloud over the tabernacle. during the evening the cloud looked like fire. whenever the cloud lifted from the tabernacle, the israelites would set out, and whenever it settled, the israelites encamped.
after reading this i began thinking about how marvelous it must have been to be in such close communion with God. i mean, can you imagine being moses and audibly hearing God's voice? and then to see so clearly what God's will was. just watch the cloud. up it goes, let's start walking...down it settles, let's stay here a while.
how i yearn for that cloud sometimes...not just to clearly see God's direction, but to rest assured that He is intricately involved in every decision i make. i so desperately want to be intentional about making God-oriented decisions.
craziest thing about this though is that i AM in communion with God. thru Christ, God is closer than the nearest tent of meeting. i can feel Him in my mind and in my heart, moving around, cleaning up shop...believe me, there's a lot of cleaning to do!
my experience.
this may not be how God works with you, but let me tell you how i tend to know He works with me. it has everything to do with the verse, "since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
i will feel a slight prodding of my heart to do something (take a step). it may be something as small as a hunch, but i feel it and i know i feel it. it's the Spirit urging me to do it, and i can resist (stay here), or i can act (step). if i act, i become more sensitive to the next time i'm prodded to do something, but if i resist, i become slightly more calloused--largely because i stop trusting the "hunch". it will be a little harder to feel it next time.
like a dance. the first time two people dance together, there's a lot of toe stomping (at least with me), but after a lifetime of dances, i think they'd both be a lot more sensitive to the other's movements. the slightest nudge of the hand turns into an intricate and beautiful twirl across the wood floor.
i'm hoping that after a lifetime of keeping in step with the Spirit, i'll be a lot more sensitive to its movements.
Monday, December 12, 2005
a divine balance
in elementary school there was a phase when the "your momma" jokes were the rage. i still remember some of them...
yo momma is so stupid, she returned a doughnut because it had a hole in it.
and
yo momma is so fat everytime she walks in high heels, she strikes oil!
i remember kids would bash other kids' moms and fights would break out. it didn't matter if it were in the lunchroom, the classroom, or the bathroom. i saw fights all over the place. one kid would get offended because another kid would bash his mom.
of course, as was usually the case, the kid telling the joke had never actually seen the mother of the other kid, so in truth he had no idea whether the mom was really that stupid or that fat, but still the offense was made, and the fight broke out.
i never understood why kids got so offended. it seems to me, if someone makes fun of my mom, the only reason i might get offended is if i give some credibility to what they are saying. another example, if someone called me fat, it'd be ridiculous for me to get offended because i am the exact opposite of fat. in fact, i can't gain weight. it's crazy. so i'd give no credibility to their comment...hence no offense. in fact, i'd probably laugh at them.
now put that in the light of seeking other people's approval, whether it be a girl you like, or a boss, or a bully at school. in his book, the life you've always wanted, john ortberg makes a brilliant statement (i think, at least). he says, in regards to other peoples' comments about us, "it is not another person's compliment or approval that makes us feel good; rather, it is our belief that there is validity to the compliment."
he tells the story of walking into a mental health center. "One woman there used to tell me regularly that she wanted to marry me because she could not stop thinking about my body. She was heavily medicated, had lived in the facility for twenty years, and would say the same thing to every other member of the staff. On her less lucid days she would say the same thing to plants and inanimate objects. It was an outrageous compliment...but it did nothing to enhance my sense of value as a person." He goes on to conclude, "We are not the passive victims of other people's opinions. Their opinions are powerless until we validate them. No one's approval will affect us unless we grant it credibility and status. The same holds true for disapproval."
in my opinion, this becomes utterly important in light of our identity in Christ. insults and compliments will mean nothing unless i give them weight. they will neither tear me down, nor boost my ego if i understand who Christ says i am.
and who does Christ say i am? well, i am valuable enough for Him to die for me, and sinful enough that every inclination of my heart is all evil all the time. when i hear an insult, i am anchored in the reality that my value to God is unmeasurable. when i hear a compliment, i am anchored in the reality that my corruption is to a level incomprehensible. so i should walk with confidence, not in my self, but in Christ, unphased by the opinions of others because He has given me this balance.
in elementary school there was a phase when the "your momma" jokes were the rage. i still remember some of them...
yo momma is so stupid, she returned a doughnut because it had a hole in it.
and
yo momma is so fat everytime she walks in high heels, she strikes oil!
i remember kids would bash other kids' moms and fights would break out. it didn't matter if it were in the lunchroom, the classroom, or the bathroom. i saw fights all over the place. one kid would get offended because another kid would bash his mom.
of course, as was usually the case, the kid telling the joke had never actually seen the mother of the other kid, so in truth he had no idea whether the mom was really that stupid or that fat, but still the offense was made, and the fight broke out.
i never understood why kids got so offended. it seems to me, if someone makes fun of my mom, the only reason i might get offended is if i give some credibility to what they are saying. another example, if someone called me fat, it'd be ridiculous for me to get offended because i am the exact opposite of fat. in fact, i can't gain weight. it's crazy. so i'd give no credibility to their comment...hence no offense. in fact, i'd probably laugh at them.
now put that in the light of seeking other people's approval, whether it be a girl you like, or a boss, or a bully at school. in his book, the life you've always wanted, john ortberg makes a brilliant statement (i think, at least). he says, in regards to other peoples' comments about us, "it is not another person's compliment or approval that makes us feel good; rather, it is our belief that there is validity to the compliment."
he tells the story of walking into a mental health center. "One woman there used to tell me regularly that she wanted to marry me because she could not stop thinking about my body. She was heavily medicated, had lived in the facility for twenty years, and would say the same thing to every other member of the staff. On her less lucid days she would say the same thing to plants and inanimate objects. It was an outrageous compliment...but it did nothing to enhance my sense of value as a person." He goes on to conclude, "We are not the passive victims of other people's opinions. Their opinions are powerless until we validate them. No one's approval will affect us unless we grant it credibility and status. The same holds true for disapproval."
in my opinion, this becomes utterly important in light of our identity in Christ. insults and compliments will mean nothing unless i give them weight. they will neither tear me down, nor boost my ego if i understand who Christ says i am.
and who does Christ say i am? well, i am valuable enough for Him to die for me, and sinful enough that every inclination of my heart is all evil all the time. when i hear an insult, i am anchored in the reality that my value to God is unmeasurable. when i hear a compliment, i am anchored in the reality that my corruption is to a level incomprehensible. so i should walk with confidence, not in my self, but in Christ, unphased by the opinions of others because He has given me this balance.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
a difficult dichotomy
in the book prince caspian, book 4 in the chronicles of narnia series, the four children are lost in the wilderness when the youngest, little lucy, sees aslan the lion (aslan, of course, is allegorical for Christ). only lucy is able to see him. he beckons her to follow him across a most-difficult terrain of cliffs and jagged edges, but she cannot persuade the others to take the route because it is so dangerous. she tries to convince the others that aslan called to them, but because she is so young, they won’t believe her. her older sister susan is the most critical of young lucy and says very mean things to her.
eventually, after attempting several other routes unsuccessfully, the children finally take the route across the cliffs and jagged edges. as they are walking aslan appears to them one by one. when susan sees that aslan really is there, she is ashamed for being so mean to little lu.
after following aslan out of the wilderness, the lion approaches susan. she appears to be crying. expecting him to chastise her in frustration and anger, and ashamed of her behavior, she can hardly speak. contrary to expectations, aslan says to her, “You have listened to fears child. Come, let me breathe on you. Forget them. Are you brave again?”
fear is a two-sided coin. on both sides it is a protection device, but one side works for my benefit and the other for my harm.
first, the benefit. i wear a seatbelt when i drive because i fear the consequences of getting in a crash and not wearing one. in this way, fear works for my good and protects me from unnecessary harm.
on the other side of the coin, and this is the side that troubles me, fear prevents me from living life to the full. this is the fear described in the passage above from prince caspian. it is the fear that speaks when i want to do something, perhaps even feel God leading me to do something, but i fear the potential consequences of acting.
my dreams, for example. i'll be the first to admit they run counter to the “american dream”. i don’t dream of having stuff. i don’t dream of having comfort. i dream of living in a poorer place, personally engaging people, and helping meet their needs, spiritually and physically. and when i don’t pursue this dream it’s because i fear the lack of security, luxury, and stuff that i don’t dream about. ironic.
it’s a thin line, and sometimes i find myself feeling fear, and i don’t know which side of the coin i’m dealing with. do i listen to the fear believing it's for my good, or do i act despite it, believing it's counter-protective?
romans 14:23 makes a bold statement. "everything that does not come from faith is sin." (my sin just increased exponentially.) how does this relate to fear?
just today i was dealing with a fear. i was really battling with it, and i found a choice between two actions in front of me. one i wanted to do, but feared the risk. the other i didn't want to do, but it was definitely safer. i didn't know which to choose. as i was pleading for God to give me a peace about doing one thing over the other, this statement kept coming into my mind..."everything that does not come from faith is sin." it took a little more struggle before the peace came. God didn't tell me which option to choose. He told me that whichever option i chose, i needed to act in absolute faith that God would use it.
freedom!
i could choose whichever option i wanted, so long as i did it walking in faith that God was in control. how liberating!
so, i did what i wanted to do, despite the risk. i still haven't seen the result, or if the potential consequences will come to pass, but i have a peace because i did it "in faith."
in the book prince caspian, book 4 in the chronicles of narnia series, the four children are lost in the wilderness when the youngest, little lucy, sees aslan the lion (aslan, of course, is allegorical for Christ). only lucy is able to see him. he beckons her to follow him across a most-difficult terrain of cliffs and jagged edges, but she cannot persuade the others to take the route because it is so dangerous. she tries to convince the others that aslan called to them, but because she is so young, they won’t believe her. her older sister susan is the most critical of young lucy and says very mean things to her.
eventually, after attempting several other routes unsuccessfully, the children finally take the route across the cliffs and jagged edges. as they are walking aslan appears to them one by one. when susan sees that aslan really is there, she is ashamed for being so mean to little lu.
after following aslan out of the wilderness, the lion approaches susan. she appears to be crying. expecting him to chastise her in frustration and anger, and ashamed of her behavior, she can hardly speak. contrary to expectations, aslan says to her, “You have listened to fears child. Come, let me breathe on you. Forget them. Are you brave again?”
fear is a two-sided coin. on both sides it is a protection device, but one side works for my benefit and the other for my harm.
first, the benefit. i wear a seatbelt when i drive because i fear the consequences of getting in a crash and not wearing one. in this way, fear works for my good and protects me from unnecessary harm.
on the other side of the coin, and this is the side that troubles me, fear prevents me from living life to the full. this is the fear described in the passage above from prince caspian. it is the fear that speaks when i want to do something, perhaps even feel God leading me to do something, but i fear the potential consequences of acting.
my dreams, for example. i'll be the first to admit they run counter to the “american dream”. i don’t dream of having stuff. i don’t dream of having comfort. i dream of living in a poorer place, personally engaging people, and helping meet their needs, spiritually and physically. and when i don’t pursue this dream it’s because i fear the lack of security, luxury, and stuff that i don’t dream about. ironic.
it’s a thin line, and sometimes i find myself feeling fear, and i don’t know which side of the coin i’m dealing with. do i listen to the fear believing it's for my good, or do i act despite it, believing it's counter-protective?
romans 14:23 makes a bold statement. "everything that does not come from faith is sin." (my sin just increased exponentially.) how does this relate to fear?
just today i was dealing with a fear. i was really battling with it, and i found a choice between two actions in front of me. one i wanted to do, but feared the risk. the other i didn't want to do, but it was definitely safer. i didn't know which to choose. as i was pleading for God to give me a peace about doing one thing over the other, this statement kept coming into my mind..."everything that does not come from faith is sin." it took a little more struggle before the peace came. God didn't tell me which option to choose. He told me that whichever option i chose, i needed to act in absolute faith that God would use it.
freedom!
i could choose whichever option i wanted, so long as i did it walking in faith that God was in control. how liberating!
so, i did what i wanted to do, despite the risk. i still haven't seen the result, or if the potential consequences will come to pass, but i have a peace because i did it "in faith."
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
employed with a purpose
tomorrow i'm starting my new job. i will be a software engineer for a******. among the other requirements of the job, i will have to travel about 80% of the time. yesterday i got my new laptop in the mail. they told me my life would be my laptop and my cell phone. mentally speaking, i know what to expect, but practically i have no idea.
when i started my previous job at c****************, i accepted the position because i needed an income. it met a need. i remember my first day. i sat down, looked around, and thought to myself, "i can do this for a couple months..." i ended up being there for 14 months.
i'm taking this job for a different reason. mind you, i still need an income, but if that was my only motivation i could have stayed at c************. i'm taking this job because in it i see potential to take huge strides towards effective mission work. what do i mean by that?
i mean, the job should help me towards my goal of full-time involvement in mission work. i do get paid more than i did, which means paying off school loans faster (huge barrier to doing missions full-time). also, i am going to be a "consultant". i'll be going into clients' offices, and finding/implementing solutions to their IT problems.
in terms of my life-plan, my vision right now has me connecting technology with missions. e-mail alone has revolutionized missions, allowing missionaries to communicate instantaneously. life magazine published a book, Life Millennium: The 100 Most Important Events and People of the Past 1000 Years, which lists Gutenberg's printing press as the number one biggest development. i believe the internet can be just as revolutionary, for the same reasons Gutenberg's invention was. the printing press helped spawn the reformation, by allowing the masses access to new ideas. used effectively, the internet can usher in a new gospel movement, allowing not only instantaneous communication with missionaries anywhere on the globe, but take the words of the bible to every nation.
for example, right now there are missionaries in very secluded areas, translating the bible into languages of people who have never had a chance to hear the gospel. if those missionaries have access to scores of linguistic experts here in the states via the internet, imagine how much faster the bible could be written!
i could go on, but let's just say i have some goals with this new job. i am comforted because i know people are praying for me in this new position, and as you're reading this, i petition you to say a prayer too. am i nervous? somewhat, but not much. mostly i am eager to see what happens.
tomorrow i'm starting my new job. i will be a software engineer for a******. among the other requirements of the job, i will have to travel about 80% of the time. yesterday i got my new laptop in the mail. they told me my life would be my laptop and my cell phone. mentally speaking, i know what to expect, but practically i have no idea.
when i started my previous job at c****************, i accepted the position because i needed an income. it met a need. i remember my first day. i sat down, looked around, and thought to myself, "i can do this for a couple months..." i ended up being there for 14 months.
i'm taking this job for a different reason. mind you, i still need an income, but if that was my only motivation i could have stayed at c************. i'm taking this job because in it i see potential to take huge strides towards effective mission work. what do i mean by that?
i mean, the job should help me towards my goal of full-time involvement in mission work. i do get paid more than i did, which means paying off school loans faster (huge barrier to doing missions full-time). also, i am going to be a "consultant". i'll be going into clients' offices, and finding/implementing solutions to their IT problems.
in terms of my life-plan, my vision right now has me connecting technology with missions. e-mail alone has revolutionized missions, allowing missionaries to communicate instantaneously. life magazine published a book, Life Millennium: The 100 Most Important Events and People of the Past 1000 Years, which lists Gutenberg's printing press as the number one biggest development. i believe the internet can be just as revolutionary, for the same reasons Gutenberg's invention was. the printing press helped spawn the reformation, by allowing the masses access to new ideas. used effectively, the internet can usher in a new gospel movement, allowing not only instantaneous communication with missionaries anywhere on the globe, but take the words of the bible to every nation.
for example, right now there are missionaries in very secluded areas, translating the bible into languages of people who have never had a chance to hear the gospel. if those missionaries have access to scores of linguistic experts here in the states via the internet, imagine how much faster the bible could be written!
i could go on, but let's just say i have some goals with this new job. i am comforted because i know people are praying for me in this new position, and as you're reading this, i petition you to say a prayer too. am i nervous? somewhat, but not much. mostly i am eager to see what happens.
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