responsi-what?

"it is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities" -josiah charles stamp

why is it that people today cannot except the responsibility of their own actions? why must everyone place blame on the opposing party? "you never told me" (maybe), or "it's not my fault, i didn't know" (possible), "you just don't understand the situation" (then maybe try to explain it better), and my personal favorite "the devil made me do it".....really?....really? the devil doesn't live your life for you. we live our own lives, make our own decisions, create our own circumstances. i am convinced that the people who give these excuses, get defensive or play the victim, are the ones that really don't have a clue as to what's happening around them. they lash out and then segregate themselves from the ones who love them and want to help. whether blinded in a spiritual sense of the word or just out of sheer stupidity, they are lost.

in this "fast pace" society that we live in, it seems that people have replaced responsibility with convenience. it's easier to point the finger and place blame than to say "it's my fault" or "i was wrong". when did the ego become more important than integrity or character? when did it become so difficult for a person to take a step back and examine their own life from someone else's point of view, to see themselves from a different perspective?

we as human beings are fallible. we make mistakes from time to time and it is our RESPONSIBILITY as adults to correct those mistakes. to stop, think and say "hey, i am(was) wrong. could somebody help?"

find joy

The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy."

-Jim Rohn

"find joy" is what the license plate read.... on both ends of the spectrum, think of the simplicity and the complexity of those words. for some, joy flows naturally and it shows in everything that they do. others, joy is a foreign concept. either they don't know where to look for it, they have lost sight of it or they are intentionally closed off to it.

we are all guilty of being the second person. at some point in time we have all lost sight of what matters and where our priorities should be. burdens from the work place, marital conflicts, renegade children, school and all the petty small things that are "important" get in the way of our joy.

i myself have let the things of this life consume me to where my joy has been shadowed. as a follower of Christ, my joy is in and will always be found in Him. my joy is never far off. i just have to remember to turn around and see that it's right there, always was and always will be. james 1:2 (niv), "consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." we, as Christians, should be the most joyful people on the planet, regardless of our personal dilemmas. always remember that "the joy of the Lord is my strength".

enjoy the last quote, i laughed when i read it...

"When was the last time you laughed for the sheer joy of your salvation? People are not attracted to somber doctrines. There is no persuasive power in a gloomy and morbid religion. Let the world see your joy and you won't be able to keep them away. To be filled with God is to be filled with joy."

-Anonymous

consequence, is a bigger word than u think

this is not the initial blog i referenced on fb/twitter. shut it and read anyway.....

growing up i never really thought about what i did, what i said or the repercussions that those actions would leave. as an adult i still have the tendency to do that but i at least stop and think about it for a minute or two now. just while writing this, i think back about some of the things i've done in random places across the country and think, "holy crap....i probably could've been really hurt just then or died".....sorry mom.

maybe it is all in your mind. as far as physical actions, i never thought about getting hurt. i never let that fear set in. i trusted God, i trusted in the abilities He gave me, in the equipment used. verbal, now that's a different story. i have this thing about speaking my mind at the most inopportune times. call it passion, call it attitude, call it whatever you want, call it getting me in trouble. i'm at that junction again in life, do i speak or do i hold my tongue? the words i say would fall on deaf ears so i fail to see the point. i wonder how many bridges i could burn by throwing one little match?

several years ago incubus had a song titled "consequence". here's the chorus,

"you better think fast! 'cause you never know what's coming around the bend. you better not blink! for consequence is a bigger word than you think. it's bigger than you or me." how true is the second sentence? you really don't know what's going to happen next. i'm a firm believer in karma, what goes around comes around....again, call it whatever you want. i stand firm on the decisions i've made in life. i would be a different person if i chose any differently (i like me). i've dealt with the consequences of my actions and i have reaped the rewards for others. i just turned 32 and i can only pray that with each year that passes i get a little bit wiser in my decisions.

speak now...

as Christians we are all students of the Word. being that, we should take the opportunities that we have to learn all that we can.

i have never been a big reader.... it bores me... there i said it, so what. in an effort to change things in my life, i have been reading a bit more lately. i'm still bored....

the book i'm reading now is about Biblical interpretation. in it the author states that "i can never speak with absolute authority about anything like Jesus did." um, why not? the very first verse in luke 9 says, "he (Jesus) gave them power and authority to drive out demons and to cure disease". how can we not ever speak with this authority, he just gave it to us! mark 9:19, Jesus says, "o unbelieving generation, how long shall i stay with you? how long shall i put up with you?" sounds to me like he was waiting for them to get a hold of His authority and use it the way he did. if "faith comes by hearing" then things need to be spoken, do they not?

as Christians we have been given spiritual gifts. if we don't use these gifts with authority and power, then what's the point in us having them? the sick would not be healed. messages would not be conveyed with wisdom or knowledge. the miraculous would not happen.

if we bear the name of Christ then we can speak with faith and authority and speak things as though they are.

speak now...

new beginnings

in one night, everything comes to an end and then starts a new...

2009 has basically been the worst year of my life. divorce, i was laid off from two jobs within a month and a half, my bank screwed me on my escrow account and there has been numerous stupid small things (none of which are worth mentioning). with all of this i can only think/hope that i am growing emotionally and more importantly spiritually. i think i've learned to lean on God more now in these past 12 months than in my whole 31 years on this earth. His grace is sufficient...

i guess it all hasn't been bad though, my family, my pastors and my friends have all been there to give me the encouragement and love that i need. and for that i can never say "thank you" enough. i was able to spend Christmas/new years with a woman that i hold close to my heart (i thought it was great).... apparently i did okay in the overall TdD race season.

so now what? now i go into 2010 with my head up and guns blazing. with a wonderful girlfriend and family/friends at my sides and Jesus leading the way, this year will be better than anything in the past.

what of emotions?

Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. ~Charles Dickens,Great Expectations, 1860

over the past year i have made it a point to be void of all emotions. they really only seem to get in the way of things.... as we quickly approach the holiday season, it seems as though some old emotions are starting to come back around. feelings of anger, betrayal and any other negative thought that happened last year.

next month will mark the one year "anniversary" of my divorce. since then, i have not shed a tear over the matter.... until last night. but it's not that i was crying because i was upset over the divorce, i was crying because i'm tired of being alone. i miss having someone that i can trust with everything about me. the joys of having someone there for me, to tell me that things will be alright. someone that will love me....

it seems that falling in love is just getting too hard, too many factors in play (fear, loyalty, rejection, being hurt {this coming from both parties}). nothing seems to go right. maybe i'm just looking too hard...

maybe this means i'm just human and that i have these "emotions". whatever it all means, it sucks and it's maddening.

When love is not madness, it is not love. ~Pedro Calderon de la Barca

what's your passion?

i ask the title question only after having it shed some light on my own life.  i feel as though my priorities are not where they should be and so i must correct them.  

over the years i have had many "passions".  climbing, women, and my newest one cycling have all taken there place in life....come to think about it, those are all still passions....hmm.  these things have always worked their way in front of the things that actually matter: family, church, my relationship with Christ.  could explain why i'm in my current situation....jobless, alone, unhappy and border line broken.

sunday morning pastor kirk spoke on john 2:12.  Christ entered the temple with a whip, over turning tables, scattering cattle, throwing money about.  why was He so passionate?  psalm 69:9 says "zeal for your house will consume me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me".  "the way we relate to God's house is how we will relate to Jesus".  the jewish people had forgotten what it meant to be a child of God.  they forgot what it meant to come together as a collective body and worship.  they turned the Father's house into a den of thieves.  they were consumed with "life" and let their zeal simply fade away.

what have you turned the house of God into?  is it still a sacred place of worship or have you turned into a "den of thieves"?  with the advent of the internet and online messages, i fear too many people are missing out on quality relationships.  they miss the fellowship with their brothers and sisters in Christ which could be the very spiritual uplifting that they need.  it seems as though the house of God today is only a place to make a business deal.  guess things haven't really changed any.....  

"this little light of mine" people, seriously.  people should be breaking down the the church doors because they see something that is missing in their own life.  especially in these trying times.  further more, we should all be passionate enough to go out and get them.  we should all do what we can to make our Father's house a place of worship....not a board room.  

as for myself, passions are being dealt with.  priorities are changing, things that should have been there to begin with.  i hope that whoever reads this will stop and think.