Create The Noise. Change Your World.

This morning I was tempted. I missed the first class of the day because I was trying to finish the homework. It didn’t seem like it would be hard to finish so instead of doing it last night, I put it off until this morning. I had more.. important.. things to do.

 The morning started out great. I got up early, took a shower, got the boys dressed and had plenty of time to do the simple homework. I found it wasn’t so simple. An hour after the class started I was still trying to finish the first part.

Have you confessed lately? Went into a booth and told another individual who couldn’t see you, everything that you have done wrong? I haven’t. I never have. The faith tradition that I follow doesn’t believe in it. They say that you don’t need any person to forgive your sins, but God. Therefore, Go straight to God.

I both agree and disagree. Theologically, we do not need a mediator between us and God. We can go directly to Him with our prayers. On the other hand, we also need to confess our mistakes to other individuals. He or she might not be wearing a black suit with a white collar, but he could be. Every time we do something that hurts another individual does hurt God. We do need to confess to him, but we also hinder the growth of our community.

I would like to begin by saying thank-you to all the comments and emails that I’ve received via my last two posts. My friend’s tumor has been a hard thing for me to handle and is deeply testing my faith. Then again, what is life without deeply painful experiences?

The most inspiring part about all the feedback I am receiving is how my post and honest reflections are helping you, the readers, in your own life. It is extremely humbling to read some of the stories that you all have sent in to me. How my thoughts have transformed your relationships with others. Your stories have given me the desire and purpose to continue writing in this blog while my mind is with my friend.

I am going to be brutally honest in this post so be warned. If you’re not in the mood to hear the pouting of a white upper-middleclass Jesus Freak, then you are welcome to click this link.

I haven’t been able to keep up with my posting this week. I really haven’t had the motivation nor the desire. My friend whom I most closely can relate has just had surgery to remove a tumor from his brain. I suppose things like that change your entire perspective.. especially on living.

This has been a really tough week for me. One of the hardest I have had to endure in a long time. First, I find out that my grandfather who left my dad’s mom for his second family never amounted to anything. He died an old lonely man without a bit of pride left to his name. I could care less, because I never met him a day in my life. Never chose to.

The hard part of the week was when I heard the news about one of my closest friends who comments regularly on this blog. He woke up early Wednesday morning by seizures. His wife took him to the hospital and they found out he had a large tumor in his brain. It apparantly has been there for a number of years due to its size and slow growth.

We all have it when we are young.

I know I did, and I knew my best friend did. Sure, it was for different things.

I wanted to change the world through my imagination.

I would sit at a desk completely determined to draw a new invention to save the planet.

It was my passion and fire to create.

I Will Change Your Life.com, has written a post entitled, “Re-igniting The Fire Within.” He writes about when he was young, he had a drive to succeed in sports that nothing could hold back.

My friend was like him. He excelled in contact sports. I love sports, but it isn’t my talent nor my passion. Mine was to create; his was to compete.

Awhile back I blogged about Raphael McManus’ book Soul Cravings. It is a quick read and has jumped to the top of my list as favorites. I finished it about two months ago and have recently picked it back up. No good book should ever be considered read [finished]. It is just a process that continues as you realize more meaning.

I don’t think the type of book matters. I’ve read dictionaries (yes, I’m lame), Spirituality/Philosophy books, sci-fi, short story collections, and novels. If they were good, it influenced me. It was able to resonate within me.

The Question

I have more sympathy for a murderer than a self-centered parent.

It was about noon when my wife and I pulled through McDonald’s to get lunch for our two boys.

They were moody. They were hungry.

Erica and I had missed breakfast that morning as it was a rush just to get out of the door.

We were starving.

Sacrifice At McDonald’s

 As we pulled up to order, we counted our cash. There was seven dollars and some change. Our check cards were worthless. We didn’t have anything in our accounts. Its impossible for four hungry people to eat off seven dollars at McDonald’s. The boys got happy meals; we shared a dollar chicken sandwich.

To be a teacher does not mean simply to affirm that such a thing is so, or to deliver a lecture, etc. No, to be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner. Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner, put yourself in his place so that you may understand what he understands and the way he understands it.  - Kierkegaard

There he was, a young boy who looked up to me and wanted to learn everything that I knew. He thinks I am a genius with secret knowledge that no one has. Anxiously, he sat in the chair and waited for me to start. I began to talk and try to dispense my information, but the student just gave me a funny look. I knew the information. He knew I was giving it to him, but he couldn’t understand my technical jargon.

Do you know the first thing that Jesus said in the gospel of John?

If you were like me a week ago then you would probably say, “no”. It is not a hobby of mine to collect random facts about the Bible and I don’t think many of us really have the time for it. This factoid is different. I actually came across it on accident and was blown away by it. “What are you looking for?” is Jesus’ first sentence. Not really profound, you think? Read it again.

The Context