Why Do You Do What You Do?

Why do you do what you do? What is your motivation? What is your purpose? Do you even have a purpose? What is your reason for getting up in the morning? Why do you go to work or class or whatever it is that you do? Or are you just doing what you’re told? Why? A certain beer manufacturer says why ask why? I say why not ask why?

Too often I think we question the things that are vastly different from our own experience. Yet we never stop to question the very things that make us who we are. Life isn’t about successes. It’s about so much more than that. It’s not always about getting your homework done on time and attending class. Sometimes it’s about putting your homework aside and going for a walk. Sometimes it’s about putting your selfishness aside and not seeking your success as the world defines it. In the end does it really matter if you drove a new Mercedes and wore an Armani suit? I don’t think so. In fact, I think you’ll find that things were very much a waste.

Why ask why? Because if you don’t you’ll waste your life thinking you have succeeded.

The Rule of St. Benedict

The following is a collection of quotes from a book I’m reading for one of my classes. It’s the Rule of St. Benedict, a 1500 year-old classic. A lot of the quotes I took were from the commentator’s comments. I included the page numbers from the version I have, if that will be of any help (some people who read these ponderings are actually in this class, so it will help them): “The Rule of St. Benedict: Insights for the Ages” by Joan Chittister, The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1992

“Listen carefully, my child, to my instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart.” (St. Benedict, 19)

Those are Benedict’s introductory words. It sounds like wise advice from a father. Something I wish I could say about my ponderings. ;) The rest of these quotes seem to echo what I was talking about yesterday. It’s kind of odd how that happens, although I doubt it’s a coincidence.

Continue reading The Rule of St. Benedict

Archipelago of Dreams and Ideas

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours… If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” (Henry David Thoreau, “Walden”)

With an archipelago of dreams and ideas, I step out into this world. I don’t know how it all relates, and I don’t know how it’s all going to work out. I don’t know where it will take me, whether to the highest peaks of Mount Millomeeks and the farthest reaches of the great Isle of Sneeches, or just down to the corner. But I can see. And I can hear. I can hear the beat of a different drum, and despite my complete lack of rhythm, I want to march to that beat. The hollow, droning march that everyone else unquestioningly follows doesn’t interest me. It seems dull and vapid, and life is so much more.

I see a world with problems, corruption, and pain. I also see a God with love, mercy, and grace. Why is it that the two don’t fit so well together? The question and the answer seem so obvious. Am I only the only one who sees? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But if it is broke, don’t just stand there. This world is need of much fixing. And where are we Christians? Pigeonholed in the corner of the Christian bookstore with “Our holy karaoke / Prayer in stereo” (All Star United, “International Anthem”).

Now is not the time for another follower in the endless stream of Christian subculture. Now is the time to give the world what it truly needs. A girl I know has become clinically insane in the past three weeks. She’s been sharing her faith with total strangers, just going up to them and asking them questions. In three weeks seven people have accepted Jesus Christ. Her cousin became the seventh on Sunday, and after they finished praying her cousin asked why more people don’t do this. I took that two ways: Why don’t more people share their faith despite their fears? Why don’t more people accept Christ’s sacrificial love?

End of Spring Break

A most “interesting” of Spring Breaks has come to an end. It’s time to hit the books again tomorrow. It’s good to be back in the Twin Cities, although I’m certainly not ready for classes to start up again.

The 12 plus hour ride home was rather uneventful, although I did notice a few things. I saw another one of those “God” billboards, the ones I talked about on March 26th. This one said, “C’mon over and bring the kids. – God.” I’m not too sure what it was supposed to mean. I also saw a rather disturbing billboard. This one featured two women in underwear and said, “Inner beauty only goes so far.” It was for Maidenform, which I guess is the brand name. I know advertising is full of lies, but now they’re just blatantly lying. What a crock. I did notice things aside from the scenery-marring billboards, the wild life count totaled five deer, all road-kill victims.

Check Out My Snazzy Easter Bonnet

Easter Sunday. The day more people show up in church than any other day. And this morning was no exception.

Everyone comes out, dressed up in the best they have. I don’t quite understand that, either an attempt to out-do one another, or trying to show God just how good we are. Look at me in my three piece suit. Check out my snazzy Easter Bonnet. I must be good if I’m dressed this nice. Is this some kind of left over Puritan tradition, or did Jesus really put on his sharpest tunic before clearing the temple?

I also find it odd that little or no attempt is made to make things understandable to the “unchurched” person. At my church every Bible passage was read from the Kings James Version, which even to my “Christian” ears sounded undecipherable. Before the offering was taken, my pastor told the visitors that they need not give. He explained that the people of the church had committed themselves to a budget, and this was how they met that budget. Of course then he went on to say that it’s everyone’s rightful duty to give–effectively undoing what he had just said. And then there was the responsive reading. We had just finished singing “He Lives,” and before beginning, the man leading the responsive reading said, “And if you don’t believe he lives, here’s proof,” and he proceeded to read the passages describing Christ’s resurrection (again in the archaic King James Version). Now certainly to a Christian, that’s proof. But he was clearly talking to the unsaved that were there that day. Proof? Quoting Bible verses at somebody is proof? I couldn’t help but question that.

You can tell I had a rather cynical attitude the entire time. And what happened? How effective was this sub-par outreach? After the sermon, two people came forwarded and accepted Christ, two more had raised their hands, but didn’t want to come forward, and nearly a dozen raised their hands asking for prayer in dealing with spiritual issues in their lives. Perhaps I should shut my cynical mouth, and realize that God is going to work no matter how things are done. Of course that doesn’t mean we should put no work into a service, thinking that God will work despite our laziness. But perhaps it does mean that I should be a little less judgmental of what I think is a church service that doesn’t speak to the unsaved.

Life Fly By

Hey, April Fool’s Day was yesterday. Dang it. I missed a chance to do some goofy writing. Oh well. A small town newspaper around here took the chance to print some fake stories about GM and Dream Works merging and building flying bicycles, and a teacher winning $27 million and donating it all to a school. It was pretty funny.

“I don’t want to let my life fly by / Did you ever stop to wonder why–ever stop to wonder, wonder why? / And time stands still when no one understands you / When you don’t quite understand yourself / But just know this that God is faithful / Even if you don’t have faith yourself / There’s nothing quite like being sure of / What’s inside your heart.” (Tomorrow’s Another Day” by MxPx)

It’s Not Okay

It’s okay. It’s alright. Is it really? Then why is she crying? And why can I do nothing to stop the pain? I’ve never felt so powerless in my whole life. My hands are tied, and I can only watch, and feel my stomach turn inside out. I can’t stop the tears of an angel. It hurts even more to know that I’m the cause of those tears. You think everything’s going just fine until you discover the truth. The tears can be wiped away, and you can put on a happy face. But what’s going on underneath the mask? What’s your secret pain that’s tearing you apart? What is it that makes you cry into your pillow? And why do the rest of us foolishly accept your mask, and think that it’s okay. It’s alright. I’ll never forget the crying voice that shot back at me, “It’s not okay.”

Pleasantville

Do you see everything in black and white? Or do you see the world in full, vibrant color? Is every day the same for you? Waking up, going to school or work. The same old thing? Are you stuck in the rut of the way things are supposed to be? Well let me ask you, are thing really supposed to be any certain way? The story of your life doesn’t have to follow the template that everyone else follows. That’s why it’s a story, write it yourself!

Tonight I watched an amazing movie. It’s called Pleasantville. Hollywood doesn’t crank out many good movies. For probably the first time ever, I’ve wanted to own a movie. This film was so original, so intelligent, so phenomenal… I was impressed. It asked some interesting questions, and said some powerful things about life. It made me laugh too. Not only was it entertaining, but it was valuable. You can’t say that about many movies. For those conservatives out there, I will warn you that this movie is rated PG-13. They talk about sex. If your eyebrows are raising right now, you are the person who needs to watch this movie. Go on, I dare you.

Life is more than Camaro’s, game systems, and striving for pleasure. Life is vibrant. Life is wild. And life is free–or at least it can be. God has blessed us with an amazing world, and he has showered us with a very unconditional and very astounding love. Claim that love, be free, and really live.

Doing Nothing for Spring Break

Everybody’s been asking me what I’m planning to do during my spring break. My answer? Nothing. At least that’s what I say. But as the first real day of nothing began, I found that I was kind of busy. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but I did a lot of stuff. I think I’m just kind of impressed with myself.

What kind of a person goes rollerblading at 10:00 at night with a flashlight? A college student, that’s who.

Dr. Seuss once pulled a prank on a friend who was out of town. He filled the bathtub with Jell-O, fruit, and fish, and then left the window wide open (in the middle of the winter)–leaving his friend with one heck of a Jell-O Salad when he returned.

Hey, it’s my spring break, I don’t have to be serious. But in case you are searching for some intellectual stimulation, you can check out a few things I updated on my page. My Art Gallery (that sounds so high and mighty, MY Art Gallery) has a new “piece,” and I added another page to the Down the Toilet section. It’s my one of my Anti-Valentine’s that you’ve heard so much about. So go back to the Unnamed Web Page and check those things out (yeah, I’m too lazy to put a direct link there).

A work-at-home dad wrestles with faith, social justice & story.