Thursday, January 24, 2008

Seed Struggles (1.24.08 VIB3 iLink)

Life is a lot about investments, where you spend your time…what your priorities are.

One of the best places to spend your time is in relationships you have in life.

Family…

Friends…

Spouses…

Whoever it may be.

How do you spend your time? How do you spend your time in relationships?

If I ask that of myself right now…I have to tell you…I am STILL struggling. The quality amount of time I spend in a relationship isn’t what I wish it was.

There is work, school, home repair, meetings, workout program and so on that keep me so busy and then when I am done with all of that I am not really in any shape to devote time to the people who deserve it.

So what kind of seed am I sowing? If my words were seeds how much impact is there really to what I am saying? I honestly believe that if you build and maintain a relationship with someone, what they say means a lot more…but if the time I spend is shoddy and thrown together…what I say won’t carry much of anything.

So how do I find that balance?

I find that question a very hard one to answer. How about you? How do you find balance? Maybe you don’t have the same schedule that I do…if not I would strongly encourage you to invest in relationships now before you do get so busy.

I am searching, because I know that with what I believe…someone’s eternity could be in the balance of my “busy-ness” and I am not really ok with that. Alas I find myself stuck in a rut.

Anyhow, I guess for all of you who do pray…would you pray that my time would free up, I do have time to do everything I NEED to do…I would just like a little more for the things that aren’t absolute…some flex time…to spend more with the people I care about.

I don’t want my “seeds” to become worthless…not able to bring forth any fruit.

So struggles the simpleMan.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

A Grafted Culture (VIB2 iLink)

I grew up a pretty normal kid.

I don’t know if I really noticed a difference between South-eastern Ohio and the rest of the world…just never thought about it.

Different cultures…it just wasn’t something I “got”…you know?

Not much really changed for me until I moved to Texas for about a year, then I knew there were different cultures…but I still didn’t appreciate it.

When I went to visit Denise in Spain before we were married…a whole new world began to open up to me…there were cultures, people doing different things and having their own set of traditions, different actions motivated by the same things that motivate me…just done differently. They did things differently because that was…just who they are.

Siesta?

What?

Why do they do that? Because it is what they do…and that…well that’s why.

Different people do different things…interesting isn’t it?

What a bubble I had been living in…I began to appreciate the fact that there were places, and people that did things differently than me, and began to appreciate that culture because it was so outside of myself…I began to understand that the world is something so much bigger than…

Me

It really helped me get outside of myself and understand…the world. For a short two weeks I enjoyed the culture in Spain so much that I began to slowly try to graft myself into the culture. 2 weeks is not nearly enough to do that, but I so wanted to that I actually ordered my own food in Spanish…I did so very poorly, but they had pity on me and somehow managed to understand my shoddy Spanish and I got the right food.

Not bad for a hillbilly.

It is nearly 8 years later…and I still want to go back to Sevilla, I just love that culture. If it were to happen that I could go there and live, I would have to adapt and be grafted into that society because it isn’t my native society. In due time I would become a part of that society and speak Spanish, take my siesta, get a job, walk (instead of drive) to work, eat the food there, and so on. Could I still speak English? Sure. Could I still do the things that I did/do in America? Sure.
The point is I would grow and change and the more my grafting “took” the more “Spanish” I would become and the less “American” I would be…still American…but slowly becoming more Spanish.

When we are talking about being grafted into the family of God it is a similar thing, you are in the family…and slowly you are picking up traits of the family. Your speech may change, your actions may change, how you spend your time, money, whatever may change. How successful would it be for me to try to graft into Spanish culture if I made no effort to learn Spanish, always looked for a hamburger, and so on…it would be a lousy graft.

So…if we are believers…and we look at this principle…how is our graft taking? We could be in Spain…but not act very Spanish…Are we in the family of God…but not acting much like a family member?

How is the graft?

There is something bigger than us…and we can be a part of it…but we have to graft our thought process and life pattern into that “culture”…or we can never fully appreciate it.

So…about that graft…

So humbled the simpleMan

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Destructive Or Nurturing Roots (VIBI iLink)

I don’t know how many of you have ever paid attention to the sidewalks in Cuyahoga Falls, but if you go to the sidewalks that aren’t right off of a main road they are all jacked up and going every which a way. I notice these things because I like to walk (although not right now since it is so cold) I love to get some shuffle going on my iPod, and walk for a while. While I am dodging the rugged terrain of the Cuyahoga Falls sidewalks, I notice that there is one reason that the sidewalks are so messed up.

Roots.

There are a lot of trees in C-Falls, and with trees come shade (which I am a big fan of when I am walking down the road with my fair complexion), trees do all sorts of neat things. Another thing trees do is as they grow, so does their foundation and it so just about whatever is in the path of the roots get moved. There have been houses that have had their basements and/or foundations broken and destroyed by tree roots. Just about nothing can stop these roots.

All these roots make trees stand stronger, more firmly, and do all the dirty work that gives the tree life and helps them bring forth their fruit or blossoms. These are all good things, but they can be destructive.

So should we cut down all trees? I mean if they are so destructive and their roots destroy things.

Well, I imagine we all know that isn’t a suggestion, and all is well if you plant trees by this simple rule.

A tree planted in the right place is good. A tree planted in the wrong place is bad.

That is why the Bible tells us we need to be rooted and grounded in…love. I am sure we have all seen the mockery of Christ, when people calling themselves Christians are out yelling and telling people they are going to burn in Hell forever. Even if it is the truth…I have never seen someone healed of cancer by having someone walk up to them, shove their finger in their face and scream you have cancer and you’re going to die!

That’s why in Love is important
Planted in right place, beauty…in wrong, destructive.

The world needs trees, and of course we all need Christ and we should be rooted…even deeply as a tree is…but we should be careful how our roots are impacting our surroundings. I am sure that the people who have roots tearing through their basement aren’t especially happy no matter how good the apples that come off the tree may be. We can have a positive impact, or a destructive one much like a tree.
We have a great message, we have great love shown to us and it is part of what we do to share that love…but if we are taking the message of God’s love, mercy, and grace to the world are we doing so much harm with what we are rooted in that people can’t enjoy the fruit of His love, mercy, and grace. It isn’t that we should be silent about what we believe (quite the contrary), it isn’t even that we shouldn’t share it freely…it is how we present it. If we are presenting the love of God in a way that is destructive to their way of life and not presented in a way that breathes the love of God, people are going to want to cut down the tree and not care one bit about the fruit, blossoms, or ANYTHING good we may have to say.
So, we have the greatest message in the world…but we should check our actions…or our roots…because if we are being destructive instead of nurturing…not only are we being destructive to the world of those we are trying to reach, but we are also being very destructive to our very purpose for being here.
Are your roots deep? Are they destructive or are they there, supporting you, but not destructive and they bring life to the parts of you that the world can see and enjoy? Are your roots deep in the love of God and not only nurturing you, but bring forth fruit in your life so that you are nurturing others around you…believer or not? Be bold with the message of love, grace, and mercy…but don’t be destructive, just look at Christ…He was bold…and yet…not destructive, but nurturing. I challenge us to do the same.

Deep, nurturing roots.

So reflects the simpleMan.

Friday, November 23, 2007

You, Me, Creeps, & Weirdos

I used to have a problem…

You may sit there if you know me very well and say…Used to? Pretty sure you have a problem…actually many problems NOW!?!?!

To those of you who would say that…I say…

Shaddup!

In love of course.

I used to, and to some degree still do struggle, with low self-esteem. I am a far cry from who I used to be, but the video on here used to be my favorite song because I always felt that it depicted me…it is still such an amazing song.

Radiohead-Creep



Now I am not bashing this song in any way, I actually still think this song is one of my top 5 favorite songs…so descriptive and yet simple…wonderful.

I was sitting and sifting through some of the songs I used to listen to avidly and this was one of them, as was listening I pulled up the lyrics. You know as much as I felt I fit in with the lyrics before… and can still relate to them, I realized something…

While I still feel like a “creep”…

I am special.

I am not going all froo-froo on you, and to the outside world I may not be very special at all…but I don’t have a longing to feel special because I feel like I already am (some would argue that I am special in more ways than one). Not only do I have a great family surrounding me, I have friends, I have people who don’t know me all that well that would go to bat for me if I needed them to and of course to top it all off…

I have my Creator.

The song poses the question, “What the hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here!” I guess I know what I am doing here…and I do belong here…even when I don’t want to be here, I know why I am here. I may not want to do what I am supposed to do, but I know what I am supposed to be doing.

I DO belong HERE!

I don’t want to go on and on…but just realize something…

We may be creeps…we may be weirdos…but we are accepted.

Maybe not by the people we come across everyday…but we are accepted…and if you call yourself a “Christian” and you can’t accept a “Creep” or a “Weirdo” … I pity you, because you are missing out on some of the most fantastic people God has ever made, and I am sure that you will find that out soon enough, don’t forget the whole He died for ALL…you, me, creeps, and weirdo’s.

Blah, blah, blah…

So accepted is the “creep” simpleMan.

P.S. So are you, my “creepy” “weirdo” friends!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving...Or Not.

I hope anyone who reads or follows these blogs doesn’t look to me as a person that has any wisdom.

I know what you’re thinking, don’t sweat it simpleMan…never crossed my mind.

That is comforting…

You know, Thanksgiving is just about my favorite holiday, I love what it is, what it stands for and I even love the way it is celebrated. You usually sit around a table with family and/or friends and eat, share stories, catch up, B.S., or whatever…the point is you spend time with each other not in front of the tube…but actually talking face to face with each other…maybe for the first time since last Thanksgiving.

I could argue the points about the other holidays being better or worse…but I am not going to…I would rather focus on all that we have…and how very thankful we should be. We who may be reading this very blog must have a computer or access to one, have access to an internet service, more than likely meaning we have access to a phone, and if we are in a place that has access to a phone more than likely there is access to other “essentials” such as running water, even running hot water. We also have a roof over our head since I know very few (I honestly couldn’t name one) who have access to a computer and do not have a roof over their heads. I could go on and on about so many things…cars for example.

We have so much, and yet we feel as if we should be entitled to so much more because we may know a handful of people that have more stinking wealth than we do and if I am being honest…well…I think you get the point.

And sadly…

I am guilty.

I love football, and I even look forward to the games on Thanksgiving…but it is so much more than that…I mean we have football on Sundays for approximately half the year (including pre-season and playoffs) why does football come to our minds to be synonymous with Thanksgiving? We have food everyday (I go back to my rant about all that we have) why is that synonymous with Thanksgiving? Sure turkey is mostly holiday specific with Thanksgiving and oh yeah...the parade…but I certainly hope to GOD it is about more than a blasted turkey or a hot air induced parade.

What have we done to this beautiful holiday here in America? Have we become such pathetic, sense of entitled people that we have somehow felt we have nothing to be thankful for? We have approximately the same amount of celebration and maybe more for a Hallmark induced holiday such as Sweetest Day (Wasn’t valentine’s enough for Pete’s sake…o wait…money…DUH!) as we do for a holiday that could actually stand for something.

Maybe it all comes down to Thanksgiving Day just not being marketable enough for those who want our money, maybe doesn’t get the ratings for the media, maybe “thanks” just isn’t a part of our culture.

This has nothing with religion …I just think it would be nice if every once in a while people would get outside of themselves and be thankful for something once in a while…including myself.

It would be even nicer…if more than just a handful actually cared or were actually thankful, I know some are out there…but I feel as if they are on the endangered species list.

Thank you for reading…

Or not…

You know…whatever.

So grumbles a simpleMan.

P.S. I honestly do hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving…really!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

simpleTravel (pt.8)

Day 5

Back to simpleTime, back to simpleLife.

The trip is over and I got back at the Canton/Akron AP @ about 11:15 or so and left about 11:30 or so. I am sooooo tired, lol.

All in all, there were several things good and several things not so good…do you believe I forgot my cell today as I came in to work?

What an idiot.

In for work today, just now (3.5 hours after I got here) able to sit and write much of anything to whomever you all are that read…

Anyway…

That was the trip…

I am sure I will remember more later, but yeah….

So survived the simpleMan

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

simpleTravel (pt.7)

Day 4

7:22pm simpleTime
7:22pm HOTLANTA time…lol!!

Yes, yes, yes, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

I am STUCKin Atlanta for 3 hours because my connecting flight was so late….WOOOOO!!!

At least I have a little time to sit back and do some people watching, a hobby I love but have lost time for.

I did manage to get a class BASICALLY done before I left on the last flight, so I am a little more optimistic about life in general.

Another YP didn’t make the flight like me and BLEW UP at the guy working the desk…not THAT guys fault, and was giving him all sorts of attitude. I walk up, already figuring that we missed our flight, and after that dude left on a bit of a temper tantrum, I walk up and hand him my ticket and say, “Same situation as him.” The Delta guy says, “Same situation, different attitude.” And smirked, after that I asked if there was a phone available that wasn’t a payphone so I could call the simpleWife so she wouldn’t be at the AP for like 4 hours. I told him I forgot my phone at home or I would have used that, he said, “Well, I didn’t forget my phone at home.” I was a little like…what? But then I noticed he was pulling out HIS phone for me to use.

Niiiiiccceeee!

Left a message with the simpleWife, all is well.

Interesting…

The guy I was with isn’t a bad guy, and sure we took and different flight to help them out…but it would have helped us out too had it worked. So anyway, just interesting what we as believers look like with our attitudes…

I am guilty more often than I like…

And I get up and tell people we have to be different…

Just made me think…

Anyway, he was so distressed he didn’t even want to go get a coffee or anything…too bad, it would have been free.

Back to people watching….wahooo…

So watches the simpleMan.

OOHHHH CHICK FIGHT!!!! Lol

Meh…no fight…lots of cussing and shoving. Thought for sure there was going to be a rumble though…good stuff.

Again…so watches the simpleMan.