Rewriting

The other day, as I sat at my favorite place watching an incredible sunset, I decided to try and describe what I saw for the blog. I tapped it out once on my phone, then switched over to camera mode to take another picture as the sunset continued.  After taking a couple of shots I switched back, wanting to keep typing.

Much to my dismay, everything I'd written before was gone. POOF! I had no idea how, but I knew I was irritated with the Blogger app!  Of course, I HAD to describe that sunset; it was going to be the post of the evening, so I started typing it out again.  Sure enough, the second attempt was a bit improvement.

Switched to the camera for another picture, switched back, and BAM!  IT WAS ALL GONE AGAIN!  I had to start over again, and the third time WAS EVEN BETTER.  

In that moment, I heard God whisper to me, "See? This is passage is just like your life. I keep letting you go through it again and again, but you know what? Each time it gets better.  Now, can't you just sit tight and enjoy the beautiful sunset I've given you?"

Watching the "wrong" side of the Sunset

This afternoon I was sitting around the house, and at a certain point, God said, "Go ride down to the river." So I went out, grabbed my bike, and went to my absolute favorite spot, on the eastern point of Belle Isle, looking at the city.  God told me to watch the sunset, so I sat down, pulled out my book, and prepared to actually watch an entire sunset. 

Sunsets can be staggeringly beautiful things.  Most folks watch the sun as it sets, and if you can catch a clear day with little wisps of clouds to illuminate, it'll be something cool.  Of course, you have to be looking west, and I was looking east.  If you look East, instead of seeing the sun in it's glory, you get to see everything the sun lights up, and it certainly makes for a beautiful canvas!

God starts with a brilliant yellow, bathing the city in gold. Slowly this deepens and the gold becomes bronze, and then it gets deeper still, shifting to a red. The sun is getting close to the horizon now, and its color is fading, but it kisses the skyline with a faint pink before dipping out of sight.

What comes next is perhaps most surprising, as the show doesn't end!  The the light on the buildings fades the sky becomes god's next canvas. What before was a clear sky blue bleeds into purple, with a whole spectrum of dark reds, a clear contrast to the array of yellows in the west.  Gradually the purples fade away, the blues deepen, the moon pops out, and the city's lights start to twinkle on. Watch for about 15 minutes more and the blue turns to black, with the lights of the city truly coming alive.

There's a lot of potential take-aways here...but mine were pretty simple.  First, it's always good to do what God tells you, as he has all manner of wonders in store. Second? Take a minute to marvel at what God's doing rather than staring right at him. There you'll see him reflected, and it will absolutely blow your mind.

The Bronzed City

See the red's in the sky reflected in the river

Nighty night!

About Church and State

American politics is generally a ludicrous institution, and American Christians of late truly epitomize this.  We serve a Lord who commands us to feed the hungry, give shelter to the homeless, clothe the shivering, heal the sick, and visit the imprisoned, and I've seen Christians running food banks, homeless shelters, clothing closets, medical clinics, and prison ministries.  

Many Conservative Christians would like to thus pretend that government has nothing to do with fulfilling the clear commandments of the Matthew 25...Jesus's teachings were about individuals, not governments!  This disregards a really important point about the philosophy of government, and a crucial reality about effective Christian Non-profit organizations.

1. Christians in Government are still Christians: Government exists to address the collective needs of the population in a manner that's in accord with the will of the population.  As American Christians, God gave us a gift to be able to elect officials who represent us, so I expect that He will hold us accountable for electing officials who take food, healing, and housing from the least of us.  

Christians in government have been given a gift of authority and it's incumbent on them to use it a way that glorifies the Kingdom, rather than hurting our witness.  It's easy to consider "government" an anonymous black hole, but at its best, it’s the people of a country helping other people in an organized structured way.  We have to fight for good government, but that's NOT synonymous with small government.

2. Government often works through Christians: Pulling aside the curtains, most of the non-profit agencies you love can do their work thanks to financial support from federal, state and local governments.  Private philanthropy can play a significant role in their work, but serving government grants and contracts designed to promote community wellness is a cornerstone of the most effective non-profit organizations, Christian and otherwise.  Christian officials can do a lot to serve the Kingdom by identifying Christians doing effective service work and helping them be the salt and the light.  

There's an argument that Christians make that government should shrink and cut taxes, so they could give more away, but that's de facto insane and actually runs counter to the Old Testament's teaching about tithes. (Tithes were mandatory, and supported effective church, governance, alms, and savings)  The simple fact is that money given back via tax cuts seldom funds increased philanthropy; instead, it goes to increased personal consumption, retirement savings, and other stuff.  There's no substitution effect, and certainly not at the scale required.  

I’m always looking to vote for government that effectively honors and serves the least of us, seeking the good of the city, rather than just fighting against itself, and I hope you are too.

Showing up with crap

I used to work with a guy named Charles, and he loved to say that the most important thing was to "show up."  More recently, I've heard an addition, that it's good to "show up, and tell the truth."  As time goes by I continue to appreciate the wisdom of all of that.

The simple fact is, the only thing worse than publishing crappy work is avoiding your poor work entirely, and pretending you don't have a problem.  When you fail to show up it allows you to hide from what's wrong, and the shadow from this takes over your life.  By showing up you hasten facing the music, and by facing your fears you can find the freedom you need to move forward.

I'm going to do this posting thing everyday, and for every lousy blog I post, I realize that I need (and want) to get better.  So the amount of work I put into finding good topics, and developing the thought continues to go up, and so does the quality.  This works for everything in life.  The best part? Show up with crap long enough, and eventually you start wanting to show up with something better.  And that's where the magic happens.

Autumn Leaves

The last couple of days have been perfect; crisp fall days with the sort of clear sky that makes the trees match the season's bonfires, and frames the vivid yellows and reds with a pristine blue backdrop.  Days that we only get for, at most, two weeks a year, and which are the gifts of a time of transition.

Fall is a season of transition, and, like all good transitions, it’s relentlessly practical.  Trees hold on to their leaves as long as possible and then, poof, let them die as it comes time to prepare for the next season of their lives, where holding on to the leaves could lead to the tree’s destruction.  They allow part of them to die not because they want to, but because they have to. 

Our periods of transition are often just as deeply unpleasant; usually change only happens when we painfully find that the way we've lived until now just isn't going to work anymore.  Sometimes we feel like we're on fire, burning as brightly as the leaves, and at other times it seems as though we're drowning.  

As I go through a season of sometimes quite painful transition, I find great solace in the autumn leaves.  God cares enough about the trees to have designed them to transition at the necessary time and to do as immediately as possible, and he created the trees in such a way that their change is also edifying to everyone around them.  How much more does he love me? 

White Rabbits

Went out for a little ride on this perfect Saturday, and just took some time to marvel at the brilliance of fall.  How interesting, that it's at the time of their death that the leaves are most beautiful.

Stopped at one point for a while to do some reading.  Several folks came up to ask how I was doing, to make sure I was ok. One gentleman just wouldn't be waved off though, and actually asked what it was that I was reading.  It was trash of course, so I demurred, and then he asked again, and I tried to deflect again.  

At last he asked, "Are you reading the Bible?"  And of course, while I had my trusty travel Bible in my bag as well as my phone, I was using neither.

After reading for a little while more (and getting into Corinthians just a bit) it was starting to get dark, so I headed for home.  Sure enough, I saw the mystery rider passing up ahead, so I decided to detour a bit and follow him down the trail on the way home.

I've always loved having a "White Rabbit" to chase after...gives you someone to follow, and a clear challenge to rise to.  Following this guy was glorious; he was fast, but I was just quick enough to hang close for about two minutes, until my heart damn near exploded, and I ran out of juice.

The thing that was so amazing, having that stronger person to follow forced me to ride faster than I have in ages, and remember just why it was I love mountain biking.  It was breath-taking, I stopped thinking about any of the obstacles or difficulties, and focusing on hanging as close as possible.  When you follow a stronger rider you ride MUCH stronger, and the thing you fight for is to not lose him.

The thing that sucked? I didn't have the endurance I needed to keep up with him. I think that all of this is like following God, when we're following after him we see past ourselves and it's glorious. However, when we follow without proper training, discipline, and preparation, we'll ultimately fail to keep the pace.

It's just like Paul calls out in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, "Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified."

It's amazing to follow the rabbit for a bit, but you don't grow only by following them.  In following them, you learn the ways in which you must grow to be more like them.  What you do with that is what matters most, not the moment in the sun.

On Ron Burgundy

What a beautiful, beautiful man.  I saw this clip from Boise ("You stay classy Boise!") today, which is basically amazing, and then of course Anchorman was on the tube so I watched that as well.  So glad I have all these wonderful ways to waste time amusing myself!

On Getting Started

Katie and I have been spending some time thinking and talking about goals.  What are our dreams for the future? Fitness milestones? Travel goals? What do we want to do in the community?

One of my goals is to complete a so-called "Dirty Century," which is a 100-mile mountain bike race.  It's filled with agony, mud, exhaustion, and likely around 12 hours solid on a bike riding up and down mountains.  So I go started, and put in about 7 miles today.  

My legs hurt, but I've got that all around good feeling you get after a good workout, where your food tastes better, your brain works better, and you know you're going to sleep well because you're worn out.  Who knows where this'll end up, but I know that getting started beats the hell out of the other options.

On Finding Yourself

"I'm just taking some time to find myself. I just want to be happy." - The credo of our generation

I don't know much, but as I start to seriously prepare for marriage, it's starting to become oh so real that LIFE isn't about finding myself, and it isn't about being happy.  It's about following God and finding the wonderful people that he leads you to.  And it's about finding joy and peace in hurting with those people, not about being happy.

As you start to make common cause with others and start to care about what they care about, the blessings will multiply exponentially.  And you'll find you stop being concerned with finding yourself, because you'll be too busy enjoying that which God has given you.

On Monday Night Quarterbacking

There's 0:04 seconds left on the clock, it's 4th down, and the Rams have the ball on the Seahawks' 2-yard line.  A touchdown wins the game earning the Rams a massive upset, but anything else and it's a loss.  Pass or run, what to do?  The Rams tried to punch it in on third down, and got overwhelmed.  As the announcers pointed out, the Seahawks D-line was too good, the Rams didn't have good enough blockers, and so on the pivotal 4th down play, they were going to have to pass.

They line up, backup QB under center, and he drops back for a quick pass.  Defenders streaking at him, he lets loose an awful pass that lands nowhere near his receiver, and the game is over.  

Just before I turn off the TV, I hear the announcer solemnly intone, "Well, I can't imagine what they were thinking throwing there, the Seahawks have the best pass defense in the league.  They ran the ball down the field, why didn't they just run it there?"  WHAAATTT? I just listened to you prattle on for two minutes about how the Rams HAD to throw because a run wouldn't work, and now you're saying that was a bad call?  Are you kidding me?

Of course, this got me thinking about my own life and how doggone good I am at second-guessing both myself and everyone around me.  The simple truth is that the only thing more difficult than creating something that goes awry is listening to someone you care about poke holes in that which you tried to create, and by extension you.  Odds are pretty good they're already struggling and they need you to help them heal, not to tell them about how badly they screwed up. 

It's easy to sit in an announcing booth and say, "Grumble, grumble, that was a turrible decision, FOOOTBAAAWW."  It's a lot harder to go back to the locker room, deal with your own second-guessing and what-ifs, and figure out what you're going to do next.  

On writing every day + Discipline

*Disclaimer* This was supposed to be a short "Hello world, I'm starting a blog again because that's much cooler than doing a livejournal" post, which spiraled out of control.

Disciplines are all about the purity that is begat by process, the slow and steady march of doing something with consistent sustained excellence, seeking to get ever better each time you do it.  I remember working at Taco Bell, and the goal was to make each item incredibly quickly with just the precise amount of dog meat.  Each taco you made, you got a bit better...muscle memory improved, you figured out new tricks, and your communications skills with your teammates grew.

I want to think about things, and I want to get better at writing!  This means that I need to write frequently and push myself to get better at it, submitting myself to the purification of routine.  So each and every day, I'm planning to write a short blog post about whatever's on my mind, be it Buckeye football, some wild hare political concept, or whatever it is God's trying to show me but I just can't see.

And in the spirit of getting better, I *shudder* welcome helpful criticism.  So please let me know what you think, especially if you can think of a way for me to get better at the writing bit.

P.S...what do you feel like you need to do every day?