There was a young boy who very much wanted to catch a squirrel. Every day after school he would run into the woods behind his house to a small clearing, where, among other things, was a tree stump just his size. There he would catch his breath and begin to look for bushy tails and quick movements in the forest. Ever since he could remember, he had loved everything about squirrels, and now, all that he thought about was catching one and having one as a pet.
When he would spot a squirrel from his spot on the stump he would carefully crouch down and slowly take a few steps toward his desire. He knew that squirrels were very sensitive to movement, so he made sure to approach as sneakily as he could. But just when he would get close enough to reach out his small hands to scoop it up, every time the squirrel would dart away to the safety of a nearby tree.
The boy tried for days and days to catch a squirrel. He just couldn't seem to do it. One day, as he sat on the stump, he began to feel like he'd never catch the squirrel, so he just sat on the stump instead of trying. Each day after school he would return to the stump, and slowly he became interested in other things in the woods, like the flowers and bugs and the stream nearby.
It happened one day, that as he was eating a small piece of bread and examining a flower, a squirrel came to his side. He was so enamored with the flower that at first he didn't even realize a squirrel, that creature he had so desired, was sitting on its hind legs right next to him. He looked over, and saw that the squirrel was interested in the bread the young boy was eating. So the boy took a piece and gave it to the squirrel. Each day the squirrel would return, and the young boy would take a pieces of bread and feed it.
The squirrel grew to trust the boy as the days went on. He would follow the boy throughout the woods, sitting nearby as the boy picked flowers and dug up worms. The days grew on, and without even trying, the boy finally had his pet squirrel.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
enjoy the hoops!
It's one of my favorite times of year. March madness. Tomorrow all the tournament fun gets going, with a full day of good hoops. Hopefully there'll be some upsets and its just even more fun watching it during spring break. I have memories the last two years of having to literally run, with backpack on and full of books (an awkward sight, i must say) back to my room to catch the games in between class. This way is so much easier. It's just me and a couch tomorrow.
Yesterday I started and finished book 2 of the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I hadn't read it in about 10 years, and it was well worth it. I love that story, and I love the fact that I have so much of the story left for the rest of the break.
If that didn't qualify me as a nerd, then this certainly will...I am excited about two new books I found. A biography on JRR Tolkien and a book about C.S. Lewis and the BBC broadcasts that inspired his writing of "Mere Christianity". Good spring break reads? Yes, i think so. haha.
I'm finishing up the Divine Conspiracy, and I could write posts and posts about it, but you can just read andy's blog and get pretty much the same picture. Just read the book. That's as simple as it gets.
I have settled on a favorite region of coffee beans: Central/South America. Specifically Costa Rican and Colombian blends. Smooth, rich, full....smile.
spring break is half over. then life will continue playing as normal. for all of you out there, enjoy the week, and enjoy the hoops!
"love is harder than a word said at the right time and everything's alright, love is different than you think" - caedmon's
Yesterday I started and finished book 2 of the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I hadn't read it in about 10 years, and it was well worth it. I love that story, and I love the fact that I have so much of the story left for the rest of the break.
If that didn't qualify me as a nerd, then this certainly will...I am excited about two new books I found. A biography on JRR Tolkien and a book about C.S. Lewis and the BBC broadcasts that inspired his writing of "Mere Christianity". Good spring break reads? Yes, i think so. haha.
I'm finishing up the Divine Conspiracy, and I could write posts and posts about it, but you can just read andy's blog and get pretty much the same picture. Just read the book. That's as simple as it gets.
I have settled on a favorite region of coffee beans: Central/South America. Specifically Costa Rican and Colombian blends. Smooth, rich, full....smile.
spring break is half over. then life will continue playing as normal. for all of you out there, enjoy the week, and enjoy the hoops!
"love is harder than a word said at the right time and everything's alright, love is different than you think" - caedmon's
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Spring needs a break
All the anticipation, expectation, and hope for spring break will soon be realized. Here I sit as a week's worth of break greets me from across the road. I'm excited that we get a break, but more than anything, I'm glad that I won't have to hear the question "what are you doing for spring break" 15 times a day. And I'm also happy to not have to remember so many different spring break plans. I was talking with a friend just the other night about how segmented our semesters are. It's almost like you can make a clean cut for spring into two nice, symmetrical halves.
Some people are going home. Others are going on trips with friends. More people are heading to any beach with sun and sand. And when we all get back, it'll be the start of the second half. This first half's been crazy. Readjusting to college life at samford, meeting new people, and deepening some important relationships. Oh, and getting chased out of my dorm. What will the second half hold?
It's here that I want to pause and say something. Spring break, with whatever plans you have, will provide you with something special: time. We'll all get a little time off from Regular Life. Take some time and think about what you're carrying around. No, not what kind of backpack or messenger bag you carry around, but what kind of stuff you're carrying around in your heart. Think about what all you're carrying around inside that heart of yours, and think about where your heart is. Is it divided up into the various things you associate yourself with? Are large hunks of it missing? Do you even know where tiny bits and pieces of it are? My challenge to you is this: take some time and think about where your heart is. We weren't meant to carry around large, heavy loads with our hearts. They were meant to beat for one purpose, knowing God, and most other things just weigh it down.
Maybe that's something you need to do. Maybe it's not. Whatever the case, have a wonderful spring break.
Some people are going home. Others are going on trips with friends. More people are heading to any beach with sun and sand. And when we all get back, it'll be the start of the second half. This first half's been crazy. Readjusting to college life at samford, meeting new people, and deepening some important relationships. Oh, and getting chased out of my dorm. What will the second half hold?
It's here that I want to pause and say something. Spring break, with whatever plans you have, will provide you with something special: time. We'll all get a little time off from Regular Life. Take some time and think about what you're carrying around. No, not what kind of backpack or messenger bag you carry around, but what kind of stuff you're carrying around in your heart. Think about what all you're carrying around inside that heart of yours, and think about where your heart is. Is it divided up into the various things you associate yourself with? Are large hunks of it missing? Do you even know where tiny bits and pieces of it are? My challenge to you is this: take some time and think about where your heart is. We weren't meant to carry around large, heavy loads with our hearts. They were meant to beat for one purpose, knowing God, and most other things just weigh it down.
Maybe that's something you need to do. Maybe it's not. Whatever the case, have a wonderful spring break.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Around the track
This verse is really hitting me over the head:
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." - Phil. 2:3-4
This is the great struggle of life. Do I live my life through myself or do I live it through Jesus Christ? It is the reason that we can get so off track so quickly. And its the reason why there's that sense of complacency at the end of the day sometimes. It's selfish ambition. It's the focus on me.
I went on a run today and made my way by a local park. It was a pretty small park, in the middle of a neighborhood, and there were a lot of people there. I noticed a dad running on the tiny little track that circled the park. It couldn't have been more than a couple hundred meters around. I'm talking small, not the kind of place you want to do a run. Well, I watched him run around the track and realized I was watching an exhibition on humility. This guy probably didn't want to be running around that tiny little track. But his kid really wanted to play, and needed someone close by to watch. The dad was looking out for the interests of his kid over his own interests.
And it kinda hit me that it's that kind of attitude of humility that is important. Humility is a phantom concept. We don't really know what it truly means. We see false humility all the time. And we see downright arrogance all the time. But what is that true humility? It's in those verses in Philippians. Paul hit the nail on the head. And I can learn a whole lot by letting those words seep into my life and my daily actions and my disposition.
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." - Phil. 2:3-4
This is the great struggle of life. Do I live my life through myself or do I live it through Jesus Christ? It is the reason that we can get so off track so quickly. And its the reason why there's that sense of complacency at the end of the day sometimes. It's selfish ambition. It's the focus on me.
I went on a run today and made my way by a local park. It was a pretty small park, in the middle of a neighborhood, and there were a lot of people there. I noticed a dad running on the tiny little track that circled the park. It couldn't have been more than a couple hundred meters around. I'm talking small, not the kind of place you want to do a run. Well, I watched him run around the track and realized I was watching an exhibition on humility. This guy probably didn't want to be running around that tiny little track. But his kid really wanted to play, and needed someone close by to watch. The dad was looking out for the interests of his kid over his own interests.
And it kinda hit me that it's that kind of attitude of humility that is important. Humility is a phantom concept. We don't really know what it truly means. We see false humility all the time. And we see downright arrogance all the time. But what is that true humility? It's in those verses in Philippians. Paul hit the nail on the head. And I can learn a whole lot by letting those words seep into my life and my daily actions and my disposition.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
why it matters
It all matters a little more than we think.
that short moment where you give your day over to God.
that conversation.
that thing that is teaching you patience.
those minutes spent in prayer.
the giving up of yourself.
it all matters a little more than we think.
"show me a love that never fails, some compassion, and attention, midst confusion, and dissension, like small ramparts, for the soul, why it matters" - sara groves
that short moment where you give your day over to God.
that conversation.
that thing that is teaching you patience.
those minutes spent in prayer.
the giving up of yourself.
it all matters a little more than we think.
"show me a love that never fails, some compassion, and attention, midst confusion, and dissension, like small ramparts, for the soul, why it matters" - sara groves
Thursday, February 21, 2008
More Grass than Flowers
Life is like that old oak tree,
that stands outside my house,
Life is like the golden sky,
when morning wakes in wonder,
All in all, it's not a bad thing,
this life in a far country.
But every time the curtain rolls,
and our eyes get bigger,
and our minds get captured,
is a moment fraught with meaning.
Life is like an open field,
with way more grass than flowers,
Life is like a burning flame,
that needs the wood and tinder,
Tiny shoots of life surround me,
sleeping at the banquet,
Oh for new eyes,
a heart with passion,
and the confidence to love.
mark.
that stands outside my house,
Life is like the golden sky,
when morning wakes in wonder,
All in all, it's not a bad thing,
this life in a far country.
But every time the curtain rolls,
and our eyes get bigger,
and our minds get captured,
is a moment fraught with meaning.
Life is like an open field,
with way more grass than flowers,
Life is like a burning flame,
that needs the wood and tinder,
Tiny shoots of life surround me,
sleeping at the banquet,
Oh for new eyes,
a heart with passion,
and the confidence to love.
mark.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Unbelief
I'm having to do a lot of reading for my classes this semester, and most of the times, the readings blur together across the lines. I'm taking a Bible class and a theology class, a speech class and a rhetoric class (which analyzes speeches). And they all seem to have foundations in the same time period. I'm not sure that I enjoy or get great truths from these readings most nights, but just the rigorous nature of the exercise of stretching my mind has proven to be a blessing.
God reaches to the highest of our academic pursuits and meets us there. He also meets us in our most basic daily tasks. He is the God of the everyday and the God of highest knowledge. That just amazes me.
There is also something else to be said along those same lines. One giant question has dominated my mind this week as I've been inundated with Old Testament readings: When and why did we stop believing in the God of the Bible? The living Logos. The God of miracles. The God who changed lives radically, and who could be trusted to Provide. When did we start putting God in a box and treat Him like all the other commodities out there in the world today?
Do we, in our heart of hearts, truly believe in God's power, strength, love, justice, and mercy? Where has our faith gone?? Jesus spoke to an unbelieving generation when He walked this earth and He was amazed at their unbelief (Mark 6:6)
It is repeatedly shown in the Word that faith is an essential ingredient for change. Just a few chapters after that wonderment of unbelief in Mark 6 is another revealing passage about belief. In Mark 9:23, Jesus responds to the crowd around him as he attends to a demon-possessed boy. He first bemoans their unbelief: "Oh unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you?" Then a few verses later, when the boy's father says "But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!", Jesus hits home and says "If You can? All things are possible to those who believe."
I'm stunned at the disbelief I see in my own life. I'm stunned at how long I've been held in a comatose state of low expectations. And I'm amazed that we as a culture of believers can't seem to really awake and become people who believe that God will bring change and revival and a consuming fire to this generation.
God reaches to the highest of our academic pursuits and meets us there. He also meets us in our most basic daily tasks. He is the God of the everyday and the God of highest knowledge. That just amazes me.
There is also something else to be said along those same lines. One giant question has dominated my mind this week as I've been inundated with Old Testament readings: When and why did we stop believing in the God of the Bible? The living Logos. The God of miracles. The God who changed lives radically, and who could be trusted to Provide. When did we start putting God in a box and treat Him like all the other commodities out there in the world today?
Do we, in our heart of hearts, truly believe in God's power, strength, love, justice, and mercy? Where has our faith gone?? Jesus spoke to an unbelieving generation when He walked this earth and He was amazed at their unbelief (Mark 6:6)
It is repeatedly shown in the Word that faith is an essential ingredient for change. Just a few chapters after that wonderment of unbelief in Mark 6 is another revealing passage about belief. In Mark 9:23, Jesus responds to the crowd around him as he attends to a demon-possessed boy. He first bemoans their unbelief: "Oh unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you?" Then a few verses later, when the boy's father says "But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!", Jesus hits home and says "If You can? All things are possible to those who believe."
I'm stunned at the disbelief I see in my own life. I'm stunned at how long I've been held in a comatose state of low expectations. And I'm amazed that we as a culture of believers can't seem to really awake and become people who believe that God will bring change and revival and a consuming fire to this generation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)