Ahhh….Peace

Elusive.

Mysterious.

Fickle.

No, I’m not talking about women….(well, maybe I am).

What I am getting at is an emotional measurement.  How do we know HOW we are doing?  Really…honestly….

“How are you doing? Are you happy?  Do you have joy? Are you content?”

These questions are often honest, sincere, communicative forms of checking on someone you care about.  I’m getting all of the above and then some from those that are “just checking” on me.  Praise God for true friends.

And if you’re wired like me, we must over analyze even the simplest inquiries and measure our answers carefully.  This exercise has led me to a personal revelation. Like a sailboat being blown by the wind of the day, happiness is at best temporal. Even a soul, full of joy, is sometimes conditioned on circumstances, but inner peace is my focus.  It is the bedrock of balance for me. From this inner peace radiates joy, contentment, and even happiness.  Inner peace is a gift from God. But as with all gifts, we must exercise its developement.

Here are some signs and symptoms of a God gifted inner peace:

• A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.

• An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

• A loss of interest in judging other people.

• A loss of interest in judging self.

• A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

• A loss of interest in conflict.

• A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)

• Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

• Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.

• Frequent attacks of smiling.

• An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.

• An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

WARNING:

If you have some or all of the above symptoms, please be advised that your condition of inner peace may be so far advanced as to not be curable. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting any of these symptoms, remain exposed only at your own risk.

Written Just For You…

You. Yes, you. I am writing this for you.

I know you are reading this, please don’t ask me how. And I want you to know I am writing this for YOU. No one else will understand. No one else knows. They think that this is for them. But it’s not. I am writing this for you.

I want you to know, life…it’s hard. I get it. Believe me. Every day can be a challenge.  I am fighting the battle too. It can be a challenge to get up in the morning. To get yourself out of bed. To put on that smile. But I want you to know, that smile is what keeps me going some days. You need to remember, even through the tough times, you are amazing. You really are.

You should be happy. You are extraordinary.

I know that the weather might not be perfect. You might have to turn your back to the wind or feel the cold nipping at your nose. But you know what, at least you are there to feel it. At least you can enjoy the sun’s warm rays on your face. Or that early Spring sunburn, the kind that kills in the shower.

You know what that means?

You are alive.

From me to you…everything will be okay.

Your Repeating Signals…

I have been told,” said the Count of Monte Cristo, “that you do not always understand the signals you repeat.”

“That is true, sir, and that is what I like best,” said the man, smiling.

“Why do you like that best?”

“Because then I have no responsibility. I am a machine then, and nothing else, and so long as I work, nothing more is required of me.

What actions are you repeating out of habit?  We are creative beings, created in the image of THE Creator.  Laziness is a sin. Work against the gravitational pull of the norm and do what your Creator has created you to do.  We are all counting on you…

Tattoo?

For me, for Facebook to have any redeeming value it must do one of three things:

1. Make me smile
2. Inform me.
3. Challenge me to think.

I can justify my invested FB time as long as my time falls into one of the above.  If it doesn’t, shame on me.  This is not to judge others who use FB for other endeavors…that’s your call.

When I post a thought on FB, it too must fall within the 3 above categories.

Often one of my thoughts just hangs out there, with no likes or comments (cricket…cricket).  Others stir my friends…like yesterday’s Tattoo comment that read – “Man tattoos on his arm Leviticus 18:22 that forbids homosexuality. But Leviticus 19:28 forbids tattoos in the very next chapter. Come on people!!“

For the record, the intent of this thought was simply to point out how all of us, at times, use scripture to justify or condemn an action, all the while ignoring other possibly conflicting text.  Color me guilty.

Most of the 47 comments from yesterday’s FB post are compelling and far more insightful than I could articulate. They can be read here. The behind the scene emails and texts that I received were equally challenging!  A few asked me for my opinion, and just as my mentor responded to me when I asked him for his opinion, I am learning to respond likewise – “My opinion matters very little.  What is the Holy Spirit telling you when you ask Him?”

Who am I?

So with that disclaimer firmly in place, my take is this: Alone I can not interpret the Bible. The Bible is God’s word.  It was written to guide us, to teach us, to encourage us, and to draw us closer to our Creator.  But I can not take every word at it’s literal meaning and apply it to 2011. Oh, I’d like to think I could…and have even claimed that I do!  But I don’t.  Much of what is recorded in the Bible was culturally relevant to the period of history in which it was written (hair length, beard, head covering, dietary restrictions, etc.). This certainly includes tattoos!

Who am I to judge?

All I can do is read the Bible and then turn to our helper,  the Holy Spirit.  Some argue because we can’t interpret the scripture, then it is of no relevance. NO!  But apart from the Holy Spirit that indwells believers, our biases will skew the most beautiful book ever written.  We will search the pages to find support for whatever we are trying to justify (and even ignore the very next chapter ’cause it messes everything up).

So now what?

• Talk to your Creator.
• Read His word.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you His truth.
• Then act upon this revelation.

We all have our biases.  We all have our own colored lenses through which we journey this faith path.  The Holy Spirit awaits you.

He alone has your answer…that would make a great tattoo!

Defining Moments…

<— I was here.  Though our seats were in the 3rd level of the Superdome, just to the right of MJ’s head in the pic above,  I was there…as a witness to the birth of a superstar (Michael Jordan) and the heart break of a man (Downtown Freddie Brown). Both occurred in less than 20 seconds.

The play went down like this: After then freshman Michael Jordan drained a pressure packed jumper to put the Tarheels up by one, Georgetown head coach elected not to call a timeout and instead hope his team could catch North Carolina off-guard.

The college basketball national championship was on the line.

While setting up his team’s potential game-winning shot, Georgetown’s Fred Brown inexplicably passes the ball directly to North Carolina’s James Worthy, erasing a chance at victory. The Hoyas lose, 63-62.

The plan, apparently, was to get the ball to Floyd in the corner. But when Floyd was blanketed by Carolina defenders, Brown panicked, picked up his dribble, then threw the ball directly to Worthy, who was standing beside him.

After the game, an utterly dejected Brown told reporters he was trying to get the ball to Eric Smith.

“But it wasn’t him,” he said.

Worthy killed a few seconds off the clock before Georgetown defenders fouled him with two seconds remaining. Even though he missed both free throws, it didn’t matter. The Hoyas were out of time.

“That was the first game the whole tournament where Georgetown hadn’t worn white,” coach Dean Smith said. “I think Freddie just forgot and threw it to the first white jersey he saw.

Though Freddie was a part of the next years team that won the National Championship, he to this date has never recovered from his mistake.  He can not forgive himself.  And others won’t forgive him either.

There is a little bit of Freddie in all of us…thank you God for the Cross.

* click play, then click watch on YouTube

Question…

World Religion 101 – Professor Cohen.  Turlington Hall. University of Florida. September 1988.

The class met in an auditorium that held 1200 people.  I’d say we were all there for that first class.

Religion.  It was an easy Humanities course selection for me to make.  I love religion…MY religion. Or at least the religion of my parents…you know the one that we were raised with?  Yea, that one….

Professor Cohen lead with a question.  Now I am a huge fan of the skillfully created question.  Hanging in my office is a simple painting of a question mark. I believe a good question is a work of art. It opens normally closed doors…closed usually out of fear and ignorance more than anything.

His question that fall morning in Gainesville:  ”Why do you believe what you believe?”

• Is it because that’s what your parents believed?
• Is it because that’s what your denomination tells you to believe?
• Is it because that’s what Synagogue or Mosque you were a part of believed?

Most of us know what we believe, but we have no idea why we believe it. We’re ignorant of our faith etymology.

Justin Taylor recently wrote “Because of this, most people are not comfortable questioning their own faith. They can’t be honest with their own doubts (“did Jesus really live?”), fears (“what if there’s no heaven?”) and insecurities (“am I doing enough in my faith?”). They remain locked in a rigid prison of untested belief.”

Suffocating.

“Further, those who live in the land of untested belief cannot, under any circumstances, tolerate those who ask questions, struggle openly with their faith, or probe to find answers that don’t come easily on Sunday mornings. It’s intolerable for them to see others doing what they fear the most: thinking for themselves…” wrote Justin.

I believe that the Creator of our Universe cares not only that you believe, but He cares for the “Why” too.  Thank you Professor Cohen for making me ask Him….

Sing In Your Own Voice…

Are you more right brained or left brained?

Brain research confirms that both sides of the brain are involved in nearly every human activity, we do know that the left side of the brain is the seat of language and processes in a logical and sequential order. The right side is more visual and processes intuitively, holistically, creatively, and randomly.

Most people seem to have a dominant side. A key word is that our dominance is a preference, not an absolute.  It seems that our brain goes on autopilot to the preferred side.

No one is totally left-brained or totally right-brained. Just as we have a dominant hand, dominant eye, and even a dominant foot, we have a dominant side of the brain. We can and must develop both sides of our brain.

Forever I’ve been a right-brained guy trapped in a left-brained world.

Most sports loving jocks (think they) are the anti-creatives, as the Superbowl Glee episode so aptly pointed out.  I am a creative. I love to create. And that’s ok.

As a right-brained creative, I’m learning (thanks to Justin’s blog, where he wrote) that we must:

1. Ignore everybody.

2. The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours.

3. Put the hours in.

4. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.

5. Keep your day job.

6. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.

7. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.

8. Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.

9. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.

10. Never compare your inside with somebody else’s outside.

11. The world is changing.

12. Merit can be bought. Passion can’t.

13. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.

14. Sing in your own voice.

15. Selling out is harder than it looks.

16. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.

17. Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.

18. Write from the heart.

19. The best way to get approval is not to need it.

20. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.

21. Start blogging.

22. When your dreams become reality, they are no longer your dreams.

How May I Please You…

A fundamental shift has occurred in customer service over the past 20 years – one that parallels a personal struggle of mine.  This is now a fundamental truth:

“We can’t please everyone, in fact, we’re not even going to try.”

Or perhaps:

Pleasing everyone with our work is impossible. It wastes the time of our best customers and annoys those around us.

Seth Godin recently wrote “The math here is simple. As soon as you work hard to please everyone, you have no choice but to sand off the edges, pleasing some people less in order to please others a bit more. And it drives you crazy at the same time.”

Are you a people pleaser, trying desperately to please everyone?  I struggle with this endeavor. Failure is certain.

I can not please you, and you, AND you.  It’s impossibly exhausting.  At the core of my desire to please everyone is a heart ache to be liked.  But the end result is that no one is really pleased, and I am reduced to someone other than the person whom Christ created me to be.  Decades will pass and you too will wake up one day unable to recognize the person you’ve become.

Stop.

Being a people pleaser is senseless.

Love God…love others.  And in doing both, be the unique being you were created to be.  We need YOU.  Your popularity amongst us is irrelevant.  Your faithfulness to become the person God created you to be is eternally significant to the role you are designed to play in the amazing story.

Oh, we all have an audience….an audience of one.

Ughhhh…The Church

Yes Justin, this does resonate with me more intensely than I wished it did.  Thank you (I think) for sharing this.

How baffling you are, oh Church, and yet how I love you!

How you have made me suffer, and yet how much I owe you!

I should like to see you destroyed, and yet I need your presence.

You have given me so much scandal and yet you have made me understand sanctity.

I have seen nothing in the world more devoted to obscurity, more compromised, more false, and I have touched nothing more pure, more generous, more beautiful. How often I have wanted to shut the doors of my soul in your face, and how often I have prayed to die in the safety of your arms.

No, I cannot free myself from you, because I am you, although not completely.

And where should I go?

—From The God Who Comes by Carlo Carretto

 

Unreasonable….

My Google Reader delivers to my desktop (streaming in realtime) my top 10 must read blogs of the day.  They ranged from the silly to the sobering.

Thinking people inspire me.  The topic of their thought is not as important to me as their thought process and plot development necessary to communicate their point. Seth Godin posted a blog entitled “It’s Unreasonable” where he bullet pointed unreasonable expectations being met everyday by a very few unreasonable people, who are moving the unmovable.

A few of Seth’s:

It’s unreasonable to get out of bed on a snow day, when school has been cancelled, and turn the downtime into six hours of work on an extra credit physics lab.

It’s unreasonable to start a new company without the reassurance venture money can bring.

It’s unreasonable to expect a doctor’s office to have a pleasant and helpful front desk staff.

It’s unreasonable to walk away from a good gig in today’s economy, even if you want to do something brave and original.

It’s unreasonable for teachers to expect that we can enable disadvantaged inner city kids to do well in high school.

Fortunately, the world is filled with unreasonable successful people.

A few of mine:

It’s unreasonable to love somebody who’s unloveable, the way Christ loves them.

It’s unreasonable to let go of deserved anger and resentment and choose to forgive and be forgiven.

It’s unreasonable to choose joy over regret or fear.

It’s unreasonable to think the disqualified could ever be requalified.

It’s unreasonable to believe that if others really knew the real you, that they would still love you.

Fortunately as Christ followers, the unreasonable was cross-conquered.  I choose today to live counter to reason and true to that still small guiding voice that’s in you…and in me.