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Thoughts and Beliefs

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World

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Ok, so I’m almost embarassed to admit that I’m just now picking up on the TV show, “Heroes.”  We bought seasons 1 & 2 and we’re DVR’ing (is that a word?) the 3rd season.  Many friends had recommended the show, and after finding a YouTube version of the 1st episode, I was hooked.  (I even got Joni to watch it, and she’s hooked, too!)

The show has become on of the most talked about TV shows of all time.  The writing is superb, and the story itself is so compelling.  We’ve finally finished season 1, and it is not uncommon for us to block a couple of hours to watch multiple episodes in a row.  It’s that good.  But that got me thinking…why is it that good?

We watched the “Making of Heroes” on the final disc last night, and I got my answer.  The show’s creator, Tim Kring, said that the show is so popular because it is based on everyday people becoming more.  Living a life with a true purpose.  These normal people discover they have super-human powers, and have to choose how to use them.    

We all strive for a life with purpose and meaning, and none of us have “super-human” powers.  Our lives can, though, have a meaning.  We can make a difference in the world.  In one of my talks, “The Smile Experiment” (which is great for schools, by the way), I show people how simply smiling at a stranger can really change that person’s day.  And, how, if you change one person’s day, then you’ve touched all of the people they encounter that day as well.  A smile is contagious and it passes on from person to person.

We can all make a difference in our world by simply taking interest in other people.  You can save the world just by changing one life at a time. 

Now, I better not hear a WORD about seasons 2 and 3…we just left Hiro in the middle of an ancient medieval battle.  Once Hannah goes back down for a nap, I’ve got to find out what happened to Sylar!  (Wow…this show is addictive.)

Only You Can Ruin Your Day

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So, the Dallas Cowboys lost yesterday.  Yes, they’re “my” team, and yes, I pull hard for them.  The game was especially painful to watch because the offense just looked pathetic.  After the game ended, I felt let down and that I had wasted the afternoon watching a team who didn’t come to play, in my opinion.

Then I remembered, “WHO CARES?”  Seriously, what part of that game has anything to do with my life, my day, my family…should I keep going?  Football is a game.  Nothing more.  In fact, football should be entertainment…not something I am so invested in that the outcome of a game can ruin my day.

I say in many of my talks that “only you can ruin your day.”  It’s true.  You can be yelled at by the boss, get cut off on the drive home, have a screaming kid all evening…but only your choice in how you react to these things can ruin your day.  If you choose to be mad and hold a grudge, then yes, your day may be ruined.  If, however, you choose to let things go, chances are, the rest of your day will go much better.  Same circumstances, same set of events, different perspective.

So, I chose last night to turn off the TV after the game and have fun with my family.  Hannah (my 7 month old) and I had a laugh-fest before bedtime last night, and I barely remembered the game this morning.  I chose to not let the game’s outcome bother me…and…it didn’t.  I can take that lesson and apply it to many other areas of my life and many other circumstances. 

Sure, I don’t have arms, but it doesn’t ruin my life.

So, my challenge to you is to learn to let things go, so that you can have a better day and a better life.  Only you can ruin your day.  No one else has that special ability.

***(Now, as you can see, Hannah was not happy at all with the outcome of the game…but she got over it, too!)

How I Feel About God the Creator and His Creation

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I am reading through the book Sex God by Rob Bell.  The book explores the connection between God and sexuality, and in one chapter, he deals with the way our thoughts, speech, and actions can hurt those around us.  He envisions a school hall setting in which some middle school boys are “rating” the body parts of some of their female co-eds.  Then, the line that really hit me…(and I am paraphrasing here)…how you treat God’s creation reveals what you feel about the Creator.

You see, in Genesis 1:27 (NIV), we read that the Creator and His Creation are intentionally similar:

So God created man in his own image,  in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

What does it mean to be created in the image of God?  Well, think about something you’ve created in the past.  Maybe you’ve painted something, written a poem, or you’ve given a great dramatic or vocal performance.  Everything you create has an element of “you” in it.  Your creation, whether big or small, reflects who you are.

God created male and female in His own image.  We reflect who God is.  Now, there’s a scary statement.  That means what I say, what I do, how I dress, what I think…etc…it all shows the world who God is.  So, when I start objectifying women or looking down my nose at others less well-dressed than me or maybe I gossip behind someone’s back about something they did, I am showing everyone around me that I think very little of God’s creation…and, that I think little of God, for He created everything.  I wouldn’t dare say, think, do these things directly towards God, so why would I do them towards what He created. 

Artists take their work seriously, and when you say or do something that negatively impacts an artist’s work, you hurt the artist.  God is the most creative and majestic artist in the entire universe…who am I to criticize His work?

So, the next time we feel the desire to lust or gossip or be prideful, we need to remember that the most incredible artist the world has ever seen, and will ever see, created the thing we’re being critical of…and…quite frankly, He does not care for our selfish critism.  

Praise be to God that He is not as critical of us as we are with His creation!

A Lesson in Self-Worth from the Top of Mt. Ginches

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Our 6 month old has become enthralled with Bob and Larry from VeggieTales.  Joni and I think VeggieTales is much better than a good deal of the kids programming currently running on television, so we are glad she is so taken by the tomato and cucumber.  One episode that was recorded on our DVR has been playing over and over again in our living room over the past several weeks.  I love the message in the story, and wanted to relay it to you because of how profound the lesson is.

In the episode, “A Snoodle’s Tale,” Bob the Tomato tells a Dr. Seuss-like story of a little creature known as a Snoodle.  Now, most Snoodles are of average size, however, the young Snoodle playing the main role in the story (pictured right) is smaller than the others.  He tries his hand at art, music and even flying, but his talents are not as developed as the other Snoodles in town.  The Snoodles around him ridicule his efforts and make him feel terrible for even trying.  Every time the young Snoodle fails at something, the other Snoodles paint him a picture to commemorate the failure, and they place each painting in his backpack.  He eventually decides to leave town and head toward Mt. Ginches where he has seen the local “finches” flying and soaring through the sky. 

Once he reaches the top of Mt. Ginches, he finds a cave which is located “high above the clouds.”  Inside the cave, we meet a Stranger, the Creator of the Snoodles (which is a representation of God himself).  The Stranger sees the young Snoodle is very depressed, and he asks to see the paintings in his backpack.  The young Snoodle reluctantly complies, and is surprised when the Stranger announces that these paintings look nothing like the young Snoodle.  The Stranger tosses the terrible memories of the failures into the fire, and tells the Snoodle that He will paint a true image for him to carry in his pack.  Here are the words from the poem as it is told just as the Stranger has revealed His painting of the young Snoodle:

The boy in the portrait looked older and strong,
With wings on his back that were sturdy and long,
And a look in his eye, both courageous and free.
“Sir,” asked the boy, “Are you saying that’s–me?
I‘d like to believe it, but, sir, I’m afraid to.” 

“I know who you are,” the man said, “for I made you.
I built the tower and set it in motion.
I planted the meadow–put fish in the ocean.
And I feed the finches, though most Snoodles doubt it,
Not one of them falls that I don’t know about it.”

 

“I’ve seen you fall down in the mud and the goo.
I’ve seen all you’ve done and all you will do.
I gave you your pack and your paints and your wings.
I chose them for you. They’re your special things.”

 

“The Snoodle-kazoo is so you can sing
About colors in autumn or flowers in spring.
I gave you your brushes in hopes that you’d see
How using them, you can make pictures for me.”

“Most of the Snoodles,” the old one said sadly,
“Just use their paints to make others feel badly.”
The young Snoodle pondered the things he’d been told.
Then wondering something, grew suddenly bold.

“But sir, if you made this incredible land,
Can’t you make Snoodles obey your command?”
The big one smiled warmly, then said to the small,
“A that’s demanded is no gift at all.” 

So often, I have tried to use my God-given talents much like the Snoodle did in the beginning.  He was all about impressing the other Snoodles.  At the first sign of ridicule, he decided it was not worth it, and he ran away.  He seemed to bury his talents since no one showed appreciation.  I LOVE the VeggieTale portrayal of God in this story.  We need to be reminded constantly that our talents and abilities were given to us to please God.  So, if you can paint, paint for God.  If you can sing or play an instrument, make music for God.  It is best put as a command in Colossians 3:17 (MSG):

Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

The Stranger finishes:

“Here’s what you look like; Here’s how I see you.
Keep this in your pack, and you’ll find it will free you
From all of the pictures and all of the lies
That others make up just to cut down your size.”

“And lastly, your wings. You know what they’re for!
But not just to fly, son, I want you to soar!“

 

Praise be to God for the talents he has given all of us.  Are you using your talents to “soar?”

 

What is Heaven Like?

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Or…more to the point…what will Heaven be like?  That’s the question I’ve pondered for a long time.  Will I have a whole body?  Will I finally be able to throw off this un-whole body for a complete one?  Sure, I’ve asked those questions many times before.  I’ve finally come to an answer within the last few years.  Ready…here is the answer:

It doesn’t matter.

Really.  Whether or not I have a whole body means nothing to me.  Yes, I’ll admit that right now, my preference would be to have a whole body in Heaven.  But, I guarantee you that when I reach Heaven, my body’s physical status will be very low on my list of priorities.  I’ll be in Heaven…how could Heaven disappoint?

Beyond that, though, I believe the main idea of Heaven is to be in the physical presence of God.  Many of our songs focus on the wrong image of Heaven.  We sing about having a mansion and walking on streets of gold.  Those are all concepts we can understand as tangible…but the are also very worldly in terms of possesions.  The true value of Heaven is to be with God.  Check out this passage from Genesis 3:8 (NASB):

They [Adam and Eve] heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Now, they hid because they had just done something the Lord had told them not to, but catch this phrase “the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”  Wow.  That doesn’t say “God called to them from a cloud” or “God, who was not physically with them”…it says He was WALKING in the garden.  I believe that Heaven will be an amazing sight for us, as we get to see God walking in our midst.  Yes, He is God, and yes, we will still worship Him…but not like ever before as He will be in our presence. 

That is what Heaven is all about.  I do not worry about what my body will look like in Heaven.  Instead, I dream of a day when I will be with God, the maker of the Universe, and my heavenly Father.  I think the old hymn puts it best:

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

“In the Garden” – Words & Music: C. Aus­tin Miles, March 1912