“The problem’s not Hollywood, the problem’s not Washington
The problem’s a weak divided church of schizmed Christians.”
– The OC Supertones, Unite, Supertones Strike Back

If you’ve been spent amount of time around Conservative Christianity you may have heard the idea that every human has a “God-shaped hole,” a void in our soul that can only be filled by God. Oftened followed by stories of people who trying to fill this metaphorical hole with drugs, sex, music, earthly desires. These “fillers” tend have negative societal references.  However, debating the existence of a God-shaped hole is not what this post is about.  Let’s instead explore a new idea, the idea of a Box-shaped God.

Another popular theme of Conservative Christianity is the notion that we have actions that glorify God and ones that dishonor God. Although Biblically it’s true there are actions that honor God and ones that don’t our society seems to place value, weight and judgment to variety of actions. If you ask an individual which of these actions are more and which are less honoring to God each list will be different depending on their belief system.

What then is the “right way” to honor Christ? It seems that we tend to limit these glorifying actions to what fits inside of our God box. The box that holds our perceptions, our ideas of what God is and what God expects from us.  We are quick to limit our own responsibilities shaping our views of God to what we are, or aren’t. It’s easy to judge others and tell them that they aren’t honoring God. Next time think “Am I putting God in a box? Should I expand my view of God?”  By focusing on the good qualities of people, by getting to know their hearts and passion, though showing unconditional love, this is what God is. God is not (and cannot be) confined, to be held in a box.

“Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.” -Cyril Connolly

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time you’d know that I try to update at least once a month. It started out as a once a week ordeal and then quickly turned into a once a month blog. Often these blog post would be dated in the last few days of the month just to barely get posted before the month was up. Well you may have noticed there is no post for July 2010. So what happened, well I failed.

Failed, what do I mean I’ve failed? I think sometimes it’s easy to forget the driving force that causes our actions. If you go back to my first blog post you’ll see that I started this blog to be a personal diary, a place to share thoughts. Alas, here we are four years later this blog seems to have become a place where I try force my thought out of my head and on the page.

The problem is not that I have nothing to say or don’t know how to say it. It’s this lack of motivation that prevents it from being said. I don’t know what the future holds for this blog but I fully intend to continue to write from my heart. I still hope to write once a month, if not more, but the days of force blogging are over.

The new era has begun.

Wishing you and yours very merry Christmas and a joy filled new year.

Well here’s the point where I would normally add a bunch of New Years Resolutions but I don’t think I will this year I think I’ll just make the resolution to make this year the best I possible can for myself and others and leave it at that.

Here’s to a great 2009! Bring it on!

This October The Hope Project will be launching the Christmas Initiative. The idea behind this is to get over 1,100 people to each give $35. This is a project that I am very close to and I think it would be great to see this accomplished. The project focuses on provide food, schooling and medical aid to children in need. Why 1,100 people? Why $35? The project currently has 92 unsponsored children in East Africa, Tanzania to be exact. It cost $35 to sponsor a child for a month. This means if 1,100 people all get together and give $35 all the children will be sponsored through 2009!

This doesn’t tickle your fancy? Another organization I’m in support of is Invisible Children. The Invisible Children have the goal of ending war in Uganda. They focus on the children who seem to be invisible to the world. Many who spend hours each day walking to and from displacement camps so they can sleep safely without getting swept up by the rebel forces.
Oh you don’t want to support that either? I’ll bring the problems a little closer to home (pun intended) Habitat for Humanity is an origination with the goal of building homes for people in need. They have built thousands of homes for families. One thing I like about this organization is that they allow individuals to volunteer and help build homes as well as accepting donations.

Well back to the global cause. Charity Water is an organization building wells around the word so individuals can have clean drinking water nearby. They have currently dug 223 wells. This year on September 7th they dug a well live in Ethiopia. It’s pretty amazing to watch.

Wow, there are a lot of causes that are worthy to support.My challenge to you, pick one, pick all 4 but don’t just sit there and do nothing. All of these organizations will benefit from any amount. Even $5 will help make a difference. Please join me as part of Blog action day and TAKE ACTION!

Maybe it’s the questions that go threw my head, “What should i write about?”, “Will anyone read it?”, “I hope I’m not mocked”, these and a slew of other questions run threw my head each time I write a post. Yet, in the end my feelings remain the same. It doesn’t really matter if you read it, if you mock me, or if I write about something no one seams to care about. I am who I am. I am human.

I hope this is the end of my case of the lazes but let’s be real, it’s probably not.

I saw this comic in this Sundays paper it made me think about the blogsphere and how for many blogging becomes a major part of their lives.

Enjoy!

So How are you?

Digression:
I also recently read this article on 100 things we didn’t know last year. I find it entertaining and fun to read.

Digression 2:
I also find this song to describe our lives in here in America it’s written by John Reuben and is called Chapter One found on his CD boy vs. the Cynic.

The Boy Vs. The Cynic, Chapter one, page one.
I’ll start from the top…
I’ll embrace dreams again when I can breath again
And at that point I won’t be needing them
It became clear to me that I was fighting a war I couldn’t win
You don’t make it on your own merit
Only royalty inherits the kingdom
And that’s a system good intentions can’t help
Your courage is not good here so don’t try to excel
What a sad day when you realize nothing can change
The revolution didn’t leave you it never came
There will be no parades, no royal balls
Just long days topped off with last calls for alcohol
Go to sleep wake up and repeat the same routine
Smooth skin dressed with wrinkles and brown eyes
With dark rings and entertainers sing of extremes that don’t exist for you or me
When real life is reality TV no wonder our youth don’t believe in anything
It’s all a joke there are no heroes just those of us with high hopes
It’s just not that simple
I’m not trying to save it all I just want to create a ripple
And even if one individual is affected it’s monumental with an unusual perspective
That’s beautiful in essence traditional thinking won’t suggest this
Is life really that precious well yes it is
But there will be no celebrations or congratulations
No pat on the back just your mind intact
And the freedom to feel your heart beat at the speed of life
Go to sleep tonight knowing you did it right
And rest easy outside of a system that resents you for not doing what they expect you to do
Psychologically wear you down and then they make the suggestion that you get on a prescription to deal with your depression
Anxious lazy temperamental obese
That’s what money makers like to call a disease
And they’ll be looking for or creating new problems with profitable solutions
To solve them but you won’t get any better you’ll just come back for more
Until your medicine drawer is filled with unreliable cures
And that’s the way of the beast
And I can’t do nothing about it
I could shout it in a room that’s crowded but I doubt it’d make a difference
So ignorance will be my disguise cause 21st century America likes its witchcraft civilized
21st century America likes its witchcraft civilized

I love to watch the snow fall, but what I love to watch even more than that is how people around me like to watch the snow fall. It’s fun to watch there faces light up, watch them run to the windows or run outside in pure excitement and to watch frowns turn to smiles. It’s a small thing, a snow flake, yet it can instantaneously change the mood of a person. Snow is just one of the things I like about December it seams to be one of the many things that it coincides with is Christmas.

Christmas is one of my favorite season not because of the gifts, the hot coca around the fire, or even the occasional snow. It’s because of the way people treat others. The way they are more willing to help one another. The way they donate more money, time and energy to causes, the way people try to be jolly at Christmas.

I often like to think of this other times of the year. Yet, I can’t help but wonder why people aren’t like that all year around. Is it that we only have two months of good will in us and then it’s dry? Is it because we can only be nice for so long before we’ve had enough? Possibly it is because we put ourselves as priority number one. I honestly don’t know why it is. I would like to challenge you to think about the way you treat others, how generous you are all year around.

Have a happy December!