Monday 27 January 2014

The 2014 Grammys - like being in church!

Hey, I usually don't bother watching the Grammy's.  It is a whole lot of self congratulation, self-promotion and 'buy my incredible record'.  However, last night I was at work and working on stuff on the computer so decided it wouldn't hurt to tune in and see 'what's happening'.  Let me tell you... it was like being in church!

Here were the messages:

All love is the same
Do whatever is your thing (with the same line of 'as long as it doesn't hurt anyone). Someone will not like what you're doing no matter what it is so go ahead - it doesn't matter anyway.
Lots of songs about 'love' (a euphemism for 'sex')
More and more about getting all you can in this life because that is all there is.

I think it is interesting that people who would be offended if they went to church and heard messages about love, forgiveness, repentance and eternity flocked to this event.  They ate up the words, nodded their heads in agreement, clapped loud and long for each performer and their message and made sure to smile big for the camera.

So really, what message brings life, health and wholeness to your existence.  What you listen to and what you tell yourself about life makes a difference.

That's my 'two cents' and a little bit of message.  Kind of like being in church...

Wednesday 22 January 2014

Some books just break your heart.

This past Christmas I received a Kindle Fire as a gift from my wife.  While looking through it and getting familiar with it I saw the books I have downloaded in the past.  The Kindle Fire has the advantage of graphics that show the book cover.  There I saw the book "Broken for You" by Stephanie Kallos.  It had been at least a couple of years since I had read it so I embarked on the read once again.

Oh my.  I had forgotten the depth of emotions this book engendered in me.  It is quite an examination of life and love, pain and loss, hope and sorrow.  I am 'enjoying' it but, Oh! does it hurt!  This morning I was eating breakfast at my favorite local eatery, The Duck In, and to my surprise came upon a passage that brought me to instant tears.  I covered my face with the Kindle certain that no one in the place could understand why a 60 year old man, reading a book on a Kindle, would suddenly be fighting back tears.  Of course this caused the Kindle to do some interesting things that I had to learn how to undo, but it was a handy 'port in a storm'.  Funny thing is that the line that got me was this, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair."  Lest you think I am losing it, this line was metaphor for a woman locked in her tower of isolation and self-imposed loneliness being beckoned forth from one who understood and wanted to set her free.  It was a powerful moment.  I am still feeling it's strength and touch.  It is one reason I so love books.

Thank you for reading.  It is my chance to try and use the medium of the written word to communicate something real.  It is such a fascinating world and to be alive in such is not to be wasted or squandered.  In "Broken for You" the main character is finally spurred to action by impending death.  I want to take action (within my Scandinavian roots of course - so it may actually not look like action) motivated not so much by death but by love.

Guess I'm still thinking through the appeal to "Rapunzel".

Monday 6 January 2014

Learning to Love what cannot be seen

These past few weeks I have been mulling over a statement made by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4.  He says in verse 16ff:
     "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner
       man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for
       us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the
       things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are
       seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

The modern world, the world of science, demands that only palpable, measureable, physical 'stuff' is real.  God cannot be measured, felt, seen or heard.  The spiritual world is the same. So the modern world is in love with 'stuff'.  We are spending billions on proving that life came from other planets, that there are millions of earth-like planets out there and that on a statistical basis alone life should exist elsewhere in this vast universe.

As I live my life it is quite easy to love that which is beautiful in this world.  The scenes flash across my screen saver every day showing breath-taking scenes of beauty, tranquility and peace.

But Paul is tugging at my heart.  If I love these things I am learning to love something that will someday no longer exist.  It is temporal (even though uncountable years are involved and it will long outlast me) and not permanent.  Paul urges me to look for the things that are not seen because they are truly eternal.  This 'bakes my noodle' because how do I love something I cannot see?

Then I remember that Jesus made a simple statement: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also".

So I am learning how to love what cannot be seen.  I want to put my treasure someplace that won't be subject to fading away.  It isn't easy to do because my eyes work so well! 

So until next time... 'looking for invisible stuff'!