The Purpose

Lately I've been having thoughts about why I go to work, or school. Why do get up in the morning. Why do anything. Solomon said it best in the book of Ecclesiastes (and I'm paraphrasing), "One man will sow while another will reap. A righteous man will acquire great wealth only to leave it to a wicked child." Everything that we invest in this life, if done to make wealth, glory, or even to support our family, will eventually end. We shall pass from this life, and all of our labour shall fade and fall like the pedals of a flower. Why then continue? It truly is a legitimate question, and one that deserves a good answer. From what I've been fed ever since I was a child, I should believe that I deserve to live a good life, acquire wealth, and really just live comfortably. But who made that rule? If we were to take every single person on this earth and strip them of all the comforts and securities that we all supposedly deserve, I believe that we would realize that none of us deserve any less than destruction. You can call me a pessimist, but you see it every day. Just go to work and listen to the conversations that take place. Most are fed up with one thing or another and love to complain. Backbiting, murmering, and lying is commonplace. People are definitely not satisfied. Depression is everywhere. Left to our own devices we become worse and worse. Something is missing. We inherently know it within our very souls. But what does it take to live a life worth while. Everything dedicated to the physical realm stays in it. However, we do not. If we limit ourselves to the pleasures of life, its easy to conclude that our entire existence is frivolous. The Bible says that he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding. I think you know where I'm going with this, so let me just come out and say it. Ye must be borne again. Nothing within this life is worth holding onto because we can't keep anything in this life. Everything from your expensive house, to your very own life you will lose. It might be today, or it might be when you're 120 years old. Regardless of when, you are going to lose everything that you physically possess. Its important to realize our depravity. Its vital to our understanding to grasp the concept of living a life of death. If you are living in this life without being born of the spirit, then you are the living dead. A zombie destined to a life of death, and a fate worse than you could ever imagine. Try as you may, you shall never be able to escape such a fate of your own power, thoughts, or wealth. You and I are worthless creatures. Atheists say that a person that looks to a religion for salvation is a weak person. I totally agree. We are weaker than we realize. But there is a certain strength in weakness. Because in weakness, one realizes their need for a saviour. And all of us need one. Jesus said that He came to give life and give it more abundantly. But it doesn't come unless one is totally abandoned to Him. You must understand that it is His work in you and not your own works that save you. Its not a comfortable realization, but its the truth. He is the only reason for living. Otherwise we shall continue to grope in the darkness and stumble over things that have no meaning. Jesus was and is and shall be forevermore. God bless ya!

The Mightiest Force in The World.

I'm reading a book by a Christian Mystic named Frank C. Laubach. Its entitled "Prayer: The Mightiest Force in The World." In it, Dr. Laubach expands on the notion that spiritual occurrences have just as much validity as physical, or even more. He states that telepathy is just another force, such as electricity. Although it hasn't been studied as closely as electricity, it still is valid. He also states that by focusing prayers like machine gun bullets at people that you would to share the gospel with, it sets their hearts in the right stage for receiving the gospel. A year ago I would probably have thrown this book in the garbage and labeled it outlandish and taboo to say the least. But with what I've learned recently, it makes perfect sense and, in my opinion, lines up perfectly with the Word of God. Why is it that churches today operate like social clubs? Why is it that there's a church on every corner, yet no spiritual awakening is happening in our societies? We have forgotten how to "Walk in the Spirit." How I understand it, the spiritual realm has laws just as the physical realm does. Walking in this realm requires one to understand (at least) the basic principles that lie within. Otherwise, one wouldn't know which way was up or down, how to take a step forward, how to communicate, etc. We have become more scientifically minded, but at the same time we've rejected anything that can't be dissected by this "omnipotent science." A few hundred years ago, most of the world wouldn't believe that it was possible to harness the power of lighting and use it in applications imagination only could comprehend. Now we find it commonplace. To understand the spiritual realm, it takes a faith that says, "I may not understand at this point just how it all works down to the very atom of the spirit, but I believe that it does work, that it does exist, and that I can tap into it." It all boils down to one singular affirmation: Trust in Jesus and live, or trust in self and die. Everything else is just splitting hairs.

What We're Working For.

A couple of days ago at work, we had a send off for someone getting stationed in another band. She said something very profound when she was speaking to all of us. It was made very clear that she loved her job, and she said that she'd do it for free. We all had a good laugh and made some jokes, but it stuck with me. I've been pondering it ever since. I have an interesting job. You see, I'm an acoustical musician that plays (mostly) out of date music. The trick is, I get paid a salary for it. I'm very thankful for my job, but I also understand that canned music is on the rise and acoustical musicians are becoming rare these days. I never know what tomorrow might bring. But if I were to find myself out of work as a musician, I believe I would continue to make music the way I know how even if I wasn't paid for it. And as I continue to mull this over, I feel that its creating a deeper and more meaningful bond to that which I do for a living. Money has never been a great motivator for me anyway, but consciously thinking about the possibility of not getting paid to make music just makes it all the more beautiful. Its like my Grandpa always said, "Money may leave you, beautiful women may leave you, but music never will." Goodnight.

Who's Responsible?

I just found this written on a paper by my wife's hand:

"Last January we experienced some faulty electrical problems that resulted in frying a bunch of our hard earned appliances. It took us years to accumulate these things. Our 65" television, home theater, Wii, karaoke player, printer, oven, dryer, microwave, and our son's X-Box. We had insurance for the X-Box, but why? I didn't expect things that I already paid for to break within a couple years. My husband Leif is a wanna be Mr. Fix-it. He takes pride messing around with broken stuff, and it makes him happy when he sees the "Junkpot." Haha! I love the smile on his face. He initially tried to fix our dryer. He took it apart trying to find out what was wrong with it. And it was a simple fix. However, come to find out, its extremely hard to find the parts. Worse yet, it was cheaper to buy a new dryer than to fix our old one! Well, my husband doesn't surrender easily, so he took apart our television and home theater also. But it was the same heartache. THIS IS NOT RIGHT!!! Why? Who is responsible? WASTE! Landfills, toxic waste, environmental harm, air pollution, chemical spills, irresponsible manufacturing. We want a green earth, and yet we don't even know what frugal characteristics are! It leads to empty bank accounts. More work and less time for family and friends. There's no place in the world for a DIY guy anymore."

Lost In The Haze.

A lot of people that I know would call me an antique. I enjoy vintage items, old styles, and music that isn't really popular anymore. Plenty of jokes are perpetuated around my preferences, but I'd like to try and explain (at least to a degree) why I gravitate towards such things and styles. In our world today, we want the newest and coolest gizmo, the shiniest car, and the phone with an electric mirror in it (haha). The only problem with this mindset, in my opinion, is that while we continue to want more and more new products, the things that are already in our possession become neglected. In essence, we become so enthralled with whats next that we don't cherish what we've been blessed with already. The Bible says that the eyes of man are a bottomless pit. What that means to me is that no matter how much we accumulate, we'll never be satisfied with it. There will always be a covetousness for more. What I see in today's products is that they're not made to last anymore. And why should they be? Most people are going to throw everything away in a couple years anyway. But while this is the popular mindset these days, I don't agree with it. Not to say that I don't find new and cool things... cool, but that I try and understand that these things cannot bring me joy. And by living a life with that thought in mind, its possible to be content with what I have, and even enjoy what other people have thrown out. Heck, if a VHS tape was good enough for people to watch a movie on 15 years ago, why shouldn't it be good enough for me? I understand that I don't "deserve" the best. In reality, I don't have any "rights," and everything that has been a blessing in my life from my lovely wife to the fillings in my teeth from eating too much candy is simply by the grace of God. Instead of fumbling my way through the haze of what is next, I'll be not only content, but satiated finding treasure in what others would consider trash.

What Captures Our Hearts.

When I was in high school, I remember playing an NES game entitled "Astyanax." A great video game if I do say so myself. The plot is about a boy in high school that is summoned by a fairy to rescue a princess in a parallel dimension. The character is equipped with a sword, shield and a suit of armour to aid him in his quest to rescue the princess. Throughout the various levels of the game, the player is presented clips to view that tell the story of whats happening in the game more in depth. The dark lord is hell bent on destroying Astyanax (the character) and will stop at nothing to thwart his attempts. But the princess continues to beckon Astyanax! If you complete the game, the last clip shows the princess thanking Astyanax for saving her, and she sends him back to his own dimension. Of course, the first time I played this game, I was expecting Astyanax to marry the princess and stay in the parallel dimension with her. But just as I was about to turn off the game and cry myself to sleep, the clip shows the fairy enter Astyanax's dimension in human form and stay with him! This made me feel so happy that I could have jumped through the roof of my house! I didn't want to turn off the video game after watching that, and I actually didn't for about 20 minutes after. When I finally did turn it off, I felt a hole that made me want to curl up and die. Why couldn't this happen to me? I wanted to be summoned by a fairy, rescue a princess, then return to my own dimension with spoil! But it never happened. My point of writing all this is... this: Don't let wild fantasies capture your heart. Its not worth your energies, and all you'll get in the end is a handful of nothing. Games are nice, but they're not worth living for. Never forget who you are, and keep your feet on the ground. Blessings come from trusting in God, and hard work. See ya!

How Perpetuating Rasism Is Done.

I just read a Yahoo news article about some racist hate crimes being committed in San Diego, California. Its really horrible that these things are still going on in our country today, but are we really doing the right things to move past them, or are we actually fueling the fire? I once read a theory on how to overcome (seemingly) impossible problems in one's life. Supposedly, the reason that so many people fail to overcome problems (i.e. addictions, bad mind sets, etc.) is that a human being cannot just take something out of their life and call it a day. A hole is left in its place, and if its not filled with something else, the behaviours that the person had been trying to overcome would fill that hole right back up. The writer asserted that to effectively overcome a problem isn't by "fighting" against it, but by focusing the energies that were used to perpetuate the problem on something else (preferably more positive). To give an illustration, say a person is addicted to alcohol. Instead of "fighting" the urge to take a drink, the person should simply throw out all alcohol and buy mass quantities of chocolate milk, and drink some every time he or she craved alcohol. In essence, its a total elimination of the temptation altogether by simply keeping the same habit, but changing subjects. So what does all this have to do with racism? Horrible crimes have been committed in the past regarding race. And by what I've read today, they're still happening. But these are just the outward manifestations of what has already been brewing. All plants have a root system. I once heard a stand up comedian tell this joke, "When you walk down the street, black folks raise their head, look down at you and frown. White folks lower their head, look up at you and smile." Everyone broke out in laughter. This is just one of many "jokes" that I've heard that have been totally accepted by the public at large. However, I believe that these seemingly small deals are what keeps the ball rolling concerning racism. What is a "white" or "black" or "brown" folk? They're people. All of us are the same. As long as we keep the idea that races are what designate us from other kinds of people, racism is still alive and kicking. I strongly believe that to overcome racism, we need to focus on something else, and just forget about "races" altogether. We're people, that's it. And every last one of us is unique.