Showing posts with label myspace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label myspace. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

imperfections (ported from myspace)

life is so obviously imperfect. it's too obvious to be coincidence. i think i was pondering my relationship earlier today and it really made me wonder. i'm kind of retarded at times. i often marvel at how retarded i can be in this relationship. just the ridiculous "small" arguments that linger on through the day...they blow my mind. it is so difficult for me (both of us) to let go of the small stuff. i wish it was easier, this life thing...but at the same time, i don't. if life were easier (let's just call it "perfect"), we wouldn't have anything to look fwd to. what would be the point in heaven (other than the ol' eternal life thing) if earth was perfect. each of us has our own custom reality that has it's own imperfections.

if i had been born into a different country - i'm going to use thailand because i have at least a little bit of experience with that country - i'm betting that i would still struggle with various imperfections in life and i would still find life just "reasonably satisfying". actually, i was tempted for quite awhile to ditch out on this stress filled, overly complicated, let me check my calendar (oh wait, i only use it for work), life that is my existence here for the much less complicated, much simpler life that is life on an island in the Andaman sea.

it's crazy. there is this huge balance between living a good christian life and living in america. i'm not so sure that it's a balance...i tend to put everything in context of "struggles". i struggle with things. it's my internal checks and balances. it feels like this life just pulls in the wrong direction when it comes to so many key issues. sex - my body ALWAYS tells me the wrong thing. my head tells me the wrong thing slightly less than half of time time...it's only when i force myself to change my perspective that i do the right thing. and society? "pop culture" yeah...that's pretty much just another big anchor tied to my foot pulling me down.

imperfections, yes. so we are here on this earth to realize this, to step back and take a deep breath...to exclaim "wow, this really is jacked up" and to seek out the truth that is so ingrained in these exact imperfections...we see evidence of the perfection that God promises us when we look at the earth...at the sunsets and amazing cloud formations that we are graced with ever too infrequently (in so cal). looking at anything from a macro level...it might just seem perfect. look at a mountain range. from a helicopter, flying over, the range is sooo impressive. the lake looks too blue to be real...everything looks like a painting. zoom in a bit...the mountains are nothing but rocks...dry and lifeless...heaps of them. there is nothing to substantiate the earlier perception of perfection. the lake. it is nothing more than near-freezing water...run off from a glacier up the way. not to go too far into the analogy...the concept behind is solid.

imperfections. so here we are with this world. what to do. we struggle with anything that we might consciously know to be good. there are always barriers to be knocked down, TV stations not to watch...but is that to be our focus? it seems that constant struggles are just the result of giving in, of being pulled down. why spend life focused on the struggles when it could just as easily be spent on lovin others. i'm not sure that it's really that easy. if we don't stop to analyze and drill into the issues that impact us, we will not be able to firm up enough to be the solid foundation that is required when building anything substantial. i would not build my house on sand (yada yada) so why would i expect God to want to build his house (the Church) on people that are not grounded and have a well earned, educated faith in Him. (quick mental parallel to a retirement planner) what to do what to do. constantly seek the balance between building the foundation and reaching out. spend time investing in solid personal growth while also making the effort to reach out to others and plant seeds.

hmm. so how and when to build and such...i am getting tired...this is going to have to marinate more...after more rest, that is.

Monday, December 08, 2008

poop in a bag (repost from myspace)

sometimes life feels just like that...like we were promised something fun and great (a knock at the door) and we end up with stinky shoes and a mess on the porch (poo). maybe it's just me. it sucks, no doubt about it. i have been going through some odd stress in personal life (private), work life (two job transitions, stressful negotiations, lame coworkers), holidays (normal, retarded stress - quick tangent: if they are supposed to be about family and CHRIST (mas), why do they suck so much for the 3 weeks beforehand? (WTP?)) and the added bonus of exploring the possibility of buying a 2nd house. i'm not one who typically lets stress get in and really exist in life. i do know that i have intermitten stresses, here and there...mostly related to work...with a project deadline or something silly...but work to me is not CORE...it's just an add on to life. it is not anywhere near the foundation of who i am...it does not contain anything that could truly impact ME...just something that serves as a source of revenue and a place to meet people (good people...all the stinkers can stay home, please). dunno. i'm different. i know that. i think there is something on top of that as well...we have this economy mess. i think we are just cresting...just entering 1 of 2 places: either the beginning of a steep, bad bad bad downward spiral or possibly just starting to see the true magnitude of the problem (and the worst of it) from which we will have to pick up the pieces and move on. what worries me is that so many people are so negative. that negativity pervades our society these days. people are so stuck on (no, we can't change and do it another way) that we went with obama (yeah, i voted for him) just because he was spouting this speech of the past "yes, we can". seriously. think about that. it's a testament as to how sad we are...how in the dumps america is. thats not why i voted for him, but i do see that as one of the key underlying connections that he made with MOST americans.

i for one...well...i refuse to fall into that negativity and "can't do" attitude. i refuse to fall in to the pit that is america and that is this world...that is this earth. i refuse. i have something more than that. God has given me more than that inside me and he has given me more than that in the hope and the promise in Jesus. i dont have time to be brought down. a good example today actually. i bought a new bike a few weeks ago...and i was riding over to a friends house today from church...just because. anyways, i havent spent a lot of time on the bike in quite some time so i'm balls to the wall without the technical right to actually be riding as crazy as i do. so i'm zooming along...and a car pulls out too far on the corner for me to make it up the handycap ramp...so i try to jump the curb. i made it up...but lost control for a bit...and slammed pretty hard into a sign post. mostly just hit my fore arm and upper arm...but it was a solid blow. as i'm recovering and getting back on to ride, i hear someone laughing behind me. weird, i thought, and rode on. i made it a little farther down the road and the car with the "laugher" ends up stopped next to me at a red light. there are 4 inside, with the two (guys) in the back laughing at my near-disasterous crash. something about how much i sucked or something. i was confused...like "i nearly just died or ate $h!+...and you're laughing?...really?" i didnt really have time to think through it at the time...but as i rode on...i was just blown away. thoughts such as "what a jack@$$...REALLY?...wow, people suck" passed through my mind...dang. i didnt really understand.

i stopped for food...filled my tired to their recommended pressures at the gas station...and just had that stuff running through my head. after awhile, i calmed down...the adrenaline from the near disaster experience flushed out of my system...and i finally settled on my conclusion regarding the kid's (probably 16yrs old) reaction: i think it sucks that it is ok...accepted or even allowed that people react like that. if that was my kid, i would have kicked him out of the car and made him walk home to show him that that kind of a reaction is not ok...but it goes further. i think it really struck a chord within me...just how negative and evil some people are in our society. with all of the raw, exposed, bloody, sexual content on the web and TV, our filters are gone. we watch shows like seconds from disaster...and hit up sites like TMZ and E! to get the latest failures in hollywood royalty...we see every mistake, large and small of anyone that we want...barack obama, john mccain cussing out a lady in the senate...britney not wearing all her clothes or possibly even her shaving her head and going through a mental breakdown...and we are trained to be interested and not to care...but to laugh and be entertained (from gladiator "are you not entertained?!")...we (christians) need to break that cycle. we are not of this world...we are called to be different...to be outcasts...persecuted for our beliefs...made fun of and spat on...possibly even killed...

i still dont know how i could have reacted differently in that moment to have made an impact on that kid. every response that i can muster (at least today) is doused in negativity, dripping with sarcasm and hate...hmm...not that i'm mad...i just dont know how to say something that shows that thats not cool and that god loves him.

werd.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

dave matthews on the brain (repost from myspace blog)

nothing specific...more of a general reflection on the band and the ideas they frequently broach...just thoughts being thrown out into the world for everyone to see...baring the soul and opening up the mind just "because"...thoughts are so deep...so intense...but it's only when one attempts to open that window and to share those thoughts that we really get to experience life...where we get to know someone and let someone else get to know us. Dave Matthews really hits me not because the band's music sheds new light on God...or puts any sort of new perspective on life but because it just feels...sounds...so real. its music that i can relate to...it's music that i can see clearly as someone else's attempt to open up in a way that I can relate to.

walking out of work as many times as i do, i reflect on the flowers that line the pathway. looking far ahead, they look so perfect. just rows and rows of perfect flowers on perfect flower plants...this to me is beauty. it's the beauty of this earth...I say that because when I look to the side...considering plucking one for my favorite flower recipient, I notice very quickly that they all have imperfections. they are living, dynamic, tangible, things...they are impacted by their environment and can easily look perfect if just given a quick glance.

we must dig deeper.

life can be way too easy. it is WAY too easy to just get through life. i'm not saying that life is easy here...just that if you really think about it and just ride the surface of the vast majority of situations in life, you can get by unscathed. you can go to work, give a very surface, non-interactive review of your weekend on Monday when co-workers ask...skip out at lunch and eat by yourself....participate in meetings and bury yourself in "work"...and really, you can just skip through life without getting too down.

this is not ideal for several reasons. it's easy to say that we would not be "living life to the fullest" or perhaps that we would be simply being selfish...but the reality is that on a personal level...on a core human level, we are not satisfied by these surface interactions. as humans...faulty, broken humans, we are, at a very fundamental level missing something...missing that deep, spiritual connection with God. we try to mimic this missing relationship by crafting relationships with humans...seeking to fill the hole in our beings...we crave a deep connection with humans...

what's odd about this...assuming we pursue this road and build up genuine relationships...opening our hearts to others and letting them open up to us (what I would call "investing in others")...and say we even go a step further and build a community of friends, family and others that we are invested in...theoretically allowing and encouraging greater connection with others...we will still not be satisfied with what we have. we can live the most fulfilled life possible on earth with all things of this world and we will still have a huge gaping hole in us...in our lives...right?

i have heard many stories of the "unfulfilled millionaire"...the guy who has everything that is listed in the "american dream"...the money, job, cars, baywatch wife, friends with everyone...whatever you want to put on your list...and who is still terribly depressed. what's different for us is that we do not have all of those things that are a part of that dream. some of us have lots of friends, some of us have more money, some are happily married...but not many of us have "it all"...all the things this world list out under the webster's definition of success. maybe i'm alone in my thinking, but I dont really want those things. sure, i like having money to buy toys and whatever...but every good thing that we are given is really just another thing that god has gifted to us (as a guy from work likes to call it)...something he has entrusted us with to glorify Him.

we are here on earth to glorify God...we will never be fulfilled as long as we are alive on this earth in our current states. that is just not meant to be. our bodies are faulty, our minds are faulty...everything around us is faulty...this world is faulty.

if we could achieve perfection here on this earth as humans, would heaven be attractive? if perfection can be achieved here...we would be able to experience that....be able to experience life to the fullest...after all, perfection is just that...perfect....lacking nothing...the absolute state of yay/woohoo/joy/happiness/love/etc etc. (quick aside...just reflecting on that makes me excited, knowing that i cannot/have not experienced all that God has in store for me)...ahhh...

just some thoughts...going to bed now seeing as how it's past 130am here on the east coast...

Friday, May 30, 2008

me.(us).now (ported from myspace)

so today finds us on the north shore of oahu...just hanging out. here's google's version of our locale...pretty sweet diggs if you ask me :) we're not where the (F) is...we're in the hotel overlooking the pool and "turtle bay" ;)

Thursday, May 29, 2008

pseudo-political commentary (ported from myspace blog)

regarding this article: http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/29/news/companies/dunkin_donuts.ap/index.htm

i'm not typically politically vocal...i won't talk about things that are political as a general rule. there is too much "media" involved in that whole scene...things are "spun" and slanted or interpreted...they lose their true meaning in politics...it is terribly difficult to determine the true platform without reading what they hand out in their "platform papers"...or official documents that are sent out, detailing where they stand on this or that issue.

retrospectively, this isnt truely a political commentary so much as a general commentary on the media putting their take on things and impacting the way we live our lives or perceive the world around us. personally, i think that the bush administration and the US media have instilled such a fear of people that are different in us that it is hard to just live life anymore. we are afraid of black people...because they might be in a gang...we are afraid of people with tattoos because they are probably in the hells angels...or junkies...we are afraid of people who wear "middle eastern garb" because more than likely, they are hiding a home made bomb (IED...improvised explosive device) underneath...and in this case, we are afraid of people who wear clothes that over 1 billion people wear daily (a white scarf with black print on it). this is such a joke...and it is yet another ridiculous example of people who speak up...just to make a splash in the media...to stir the pot just a little bit more (the lame blogger that commented on the dunkin donuts ad) and that continue to instill more fear in americans of people that are "different".

I for one...am different. things like this make me want to dress up in "terrorist garb" (wear a scarf) or whatever and force people to see things differently. i am sick and tired of the media holding power over us, telling us what we should think when we see someone wearing this or that or having this or that tattoo on their bodies. people FEAR way too much and LOVE way too little. all of this is so counter to what i believe...it makes me sick that a huge, diverse company such as dunkin donuts cowers to some lame blogger commenting on a piece of clothing. LAME...WEAK...this is not the america that i want to be attached to. i am ashamed to be called an american if this blogger and this company act this way and are tolerated.

ugh...disgusting.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

quit folding...start (un) (ported from myspace blog)

not sure...just thoughts. its as though when life is "balanced", my brain is not full...but when I am engaged in what life is doing...what is going on...participating and stretching myself...then my head fills. but it is a different kind of full. I still need breaks in life...still need to decompress...but compared to my head being full of "golly i'm bored with life and i wish i had a direction to run in"...it's sweet. i do things that i enjoy doing and that i'm good at. it's insane to me how obvious God's plans are now that they are unfolding...but how confused and almost resistant to this direction I was when i could not see the direction...makes me feel dumb that I didnt recognize it earlier but also proud that I have been entrusted with such gifts. GOD IS SO AMAZING :) I'm constantly in awe of this puzzle that is my life...fitting one piece together at a time. I'm not saying that i really think that i'll ever have all the pieces in place...at least not while i'm on this earth...but it is fun to see it unfolding in front of me...in me...in my head...my little head. anyways...i'm not really sure...what was what...but that was it

:) Smiles from kyle :)

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

(_to self_)

real:(thoughts)

change...is so relative
change is based on perspective
if I didnt change my socks would you notice?
if I changed my mind, would you care?
if I asked you to change the color of your hair, would you?
if I asked you to move to ohio would you?
if God asked you to start a church in north carolina, would you listen?

how close are you to me?
how well do you know me?
how close are you to God?
how well do you know God (and his voice)?
do you listen?

change

are you willing to change?

do you yearn for change?
does change scare you or excite you?

(do i have any change in my pockets?)

i dont know how to change
change is so foreign...so different (very insightful)
if I change, do you have to as well?
who am I to ask anyone to change?
how much (change) is too much?

(which underwear do i have on today?)

why do I feel that God is asking me to change?
how much is God asking me to change? (not that i care)
what am I gaining by changing? (my underwear)
it is not what i gain, but what I gain for God

change

is inevitable...fun...dynamic...good...difficult...necessary..._(become more christ-like)_...

hmm...

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

hmmmmmm

sleepy blogs can be the best or the worst...best because it's raw, nearly unshielded thoughts...and worst....well...yeah. hmmmm....so i'm tired...i'm sleeping on the couch (not RIGHT now...)...i'm getting a lot done without getting much done...i feel like the guy in the jamiroquai video...what's that song...something without moving...but yeah. i feel like i'm running a race with no start, no end and no real directions...just floundering...almost falling...bouncing off whatever hits me...or being pushed into one direction or the other...but that's kinda what God wants...it's HIS plan (not mine)....he's the one who has plans for me...(good plans, in fact)...plans to take me places and have great (and not so great) things for me to accomplish and to go through...life is amazing like that. its so hard to let go of the reins and hand them over to God in a world that shouts at us that we are in charge and that we are "masters of our own destinies!"...yada yada...i think i'm just about done with the things of this world in that it inevitably turns into nothing...(for the most part)...work to make money to buy stuff...yeah...i've been through all that..it's not just that...but that is more of a trend...an underlying philosophy that governs most of the things of this world...work hard in this world to get more crap from this world (that we can't take with us (and why would you want to when you're going to heaven?))

...SLEEP!...

and things just keep going...so much...time wasted bah...i'm done wasting time here...for now.

Monday, February 11, 2008

wintry thoughts (ported from myspace)

hmmm...idea time. so on the way home from mammoth today, it hit me. yes...IT now i'm not so sure of the true importance of the idea, but at the time, i promised myself that i would blog it. who knows...maybe bill gates will read this, love the idea and revolutionize the world with it.

anyways...basically, we need some sort of flex ride thing. i'm sick of this whole fossil fuels dependency thing that we have going on. so what i'm thinking is that we need a service where we just put in where we want to go...basically like a reservation (from:my_house to:your_moms_house or whatever) and all of these entries would go into a big computerized database...and cars/vans/buses/whatever would be allocated and mapped out to make all of the routes work. more than likely, this would have to work off of an autopilot based transit system..maybe 2 lanes that are dedicated for this or something...who knows...but anyways...it would automatically map out and get people to and from places efficiently. if it was all automated, the cars (generic term) could go super fast (which would be fun in and of itself)...and be more efficient. i guess it would be like the roadrunner system...but it would actually be efficient...and work. just driving so far...to mammoth and back...makes me sick of gasoline and fossil fuels altogether. it's not so much the lower level industry folks...or any of that end of the environmental issues...i'm just sick of the fact that the oil industry has endless resources to stifle other technologies and basically to advertise how cool and normal using gasoline is (think chevron techron/cars commercials/toys_but whatever.

i'm just over the whole oil thing. driving back from mammoth, it felt like the snow was not as heavy as it has been in years past. not that i'm an expert, but it really made me think of the whole al gore movie thing...with the pics from ~60yrs back...~40yrs back...and today and how the snow level keeps moving up (or disappears altogether)...it's crazy...it's real. i saw it in person at mt rainier national park. one of the main glaciers has receded visibly over the past 50 years...nuts! but it makes me sick. it's really just each and every one of us making decisions against oil...hybrids/electrics/bikes...whatever. but thats where the industry kills us. we are pretty much fenced in to oil dependency. ugh. it makes me tired. i'm retiring from this blog...the gist of my thoughts are here...i am no longer.

cheers!....smiles...sleeps...

Saturday, February 02, 2008

blogarythmic iterations v2 (ported from myspace)

this music makes me want to scream...but i did plenty of that last night at their concert. i'm a little bit out of it today...lazy (up til 4am...that could be part of it - who would have thought that having 2 monsters after 11pm would be a bad idea?)...just kinda blah about most things today. i hate not doing anything...but i just dont feel like doing much...so much going on in my head after yesterd...well...after this past week...it's as though i need to just clock out of my own consciousness and let things process for a bit.

http://picasaweb.google.com/PerfectInWeakness/2008Project86BenefitConcert

i'm putting switchfoot on...project 86 isnt exactly deep thinking, introspective music...at least not for me. (though it is great for letting out frustration/stress/energy... i want to go away for a retreat and just hang out with myself for a bit...i'm really a pretty interesting guy...i do enjoy my own company. blah. not sure what that's about...i have a lot of new things in my life that are HUGE...it's a lot to process. i think that being generally introspective (sidebar...i think that there are multiple aspects to introspection and personality types...i am fine hanging out in a group and interacting with people...people are generally great...:no more thoughts on this:)...ugh...such a blah mood today!

i think these wristbands will stay on a lot longer than the last one...it was already on it's last leg when i pulled it off yesterday. another fantastic sunset at the beach tonight...what does God have in store for me tonight? tomorrow, I get to see if I can find a place to move...and hopefully get some stuff moved in the afternoon...who knows.

some things in life are so vivid...so visceral and real...others are so gray-scale and lackluster...moments///people///events///songs///words///days///meals///colors...where is your passion? do you surround yourself with things (list above, etc) that inspire you? i dont think we always should...but i do feel that God fills us with passion...and there are things we are passionate about that we will gravitate to. whether that is a person...color...situation...band...whatever...there are things that we are just pulled to. that is where my heart is headed. i know not where i am headed...but i am following my heart. i will trust in God to steer my ship...follow my passion...focus on God...God is love...we should be filled with love for Him and for others.

i know that blah happens to everyone...it's almost as though it is the calm before the storm...the eye of the hurricane...a moment to look inside before being tossed out into chaotic rain...what are you passionate about? go get it...do it...find it...live it... life without passion is empty...passion is so tied to love...we love the things we are passionate about...whether it's my laptop...phone...best friend...or even reading my bible...it is those things that are truly going to garner the lion's share of love. time is money...quality time shows love...break your day up...what do you spend your time on? is that worthwhile? is that what you want God to see when he looks down on your life? sometimes, I'm embarrassed by that thought (spending 8hrs on the PS3 shooting people)...

i dunno cheeto...life is broad...deep...wide...obviously too large to grasp...but that just returns us to marveling at God's glory...God has a focused plan for each of us...it could be focused on 1 person...God might just want you to convert 1 person in your life...or he might want you to start a revolution in a 3rd world country and set peoples lives ablaze with love for him. who knows? God works in the "little guy"...the nobody...the average joe....the kyle field...he does. everyday. hide as we might...it is futile. which begs the question...why try to hide from God? because we cannot comprehend his power/presence...LoL... that makes me laugh (love laughing)...(passionate about making people smile/laugh/happy)

more on this later...this purge cycle is over, yo!

Monday, January 28, 2008

life is a spiderweb...stretching in all directions... (ported from myspace)

...words cannot express my confusion...

,,,pulled in every direction,,,

[[[clarity followed immediately by clouded thoughts]]]

///enlightenment chased out of town by mundane matthew......

<<<>>>

|||passion_vs._painful_struggles|||

^^^ intent before discontent vvv

+++upside-down,flip me around+++


thoughts stir in my head...so much that is worth so little so little that is worth pursuing/doing...why?...there is so much that makes noise in this world...pulls us away from our primary focus. this weekend's sermon was on the first bit of the sermon on the mount (with a little bit of background to ramp up to the multi-week teaching) starting in matt 4:23-5:3. we pretty much covered blessed are those that are poor (in spirit)...I heard it twice from 2 diff pastors...and both angles were touched on - those that are financially poor and those that are poor in the spirit (needing God?). God listens to those that NEED him...in our world, it is very very very hard to get to the point where we feel we NEED God. the reality of the situation however, is very different.

it is because there is so much going on in the world that we NEED God everyday.
it is because we are so blessed (financially, resource wise, weather wise, etc etc ad finitum) that we NEED God so much
it is because it is so easy not to get into situations where we feel we NEED God to save us (from lions, tax collectors, starvation, hepatitis, cannibalism, world war 2 or large man-eating beetles) that we do truly NEED God.

and that is my struggle...stuck in this complacency that is the USA in 2008...so easy (truly) to make enough to survive...to prosper even (everone in the US is rich compared to the rest of the world)...but it's all crap. it's harder for a rich man to get into heaven than for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle. that was talked at length this weekend but I still havent come to terms with it. that's friggin hard to get past. yeah, we can (and should) give all that we can to further the kingdom...yeah, we can say that the iphone that I have is something that can be used to reachout and connect with people...something i have in common with others or something that i can use in ministry...but i can also say that it's something that represents a TON of money ($429.83) that could have been used to buy beans and rice to feed real, human people that are truly in need of food. how's that? you say that there are people within driving distance that actually NEED food? that NEED food to the extent that bringing said food would be an answer to their prayers? wow. how 'bout that iphone now...feeling guilty (schindler's list pops to mind - the end scene where he sees his car and thinks about how many more lives could have been saved...)

wow...so many things that pull us away from our true calling. i almost want to make a list of what the priorities are in my life and ensure everyday that i am holding up my end of the bargain (i can put the list on my iphone...maybe then i wont feel so bad about having it)...1) love God 2) love thy neighbor (gotta love the good ol' KJV) etc etc...i mean really...if we are not living up to God's priorities...God's commandments and we end up in hell...who really cares that i had the coolest piece of tech on the planet (iphone, for those of you that were wondering) for a few years if I'm damned to an eternity of damnation in the worst place unimaginable?

compound all that with the fact that most of us will spend most of our waking lives working to earn money to pay for things that we really don't need...iphones...huge houses by the ocean...oversize rocks for rings...blah...futility...vanity...being human sucks dude

i tend to end on a note like this...futility/negativity/hopelessness. not that i'm a negative person...just that i have so much running around in my head that I have to let some of the junk out and throw down some words to really process everything. keep on lovin folks...and don't settle for whatever society has you convinced is all that you deserve...God has so much in store for each of us...keep prayin on it...keep on lovin folks...go to church!...the power of fellowship is amazing...my fingers are tired

Thursday, January 24, 2008

dasdyrhcxbfdha sdav fd (ported from myspace)

brain=full...pressure cooker...it's like the ballast of a ship...the more it takes on (water/stress/thoughts/whatever), the lower the ship rides in the water...crazy. i hear people say that their brains are full...and i really do feel that. it's odd thinking that something that is just grey matter, neurons and a little bit of electricity can become full. I could see it if it were in the sense of a capacitor...but it's more of the "full like a balloon" thinking. Today, it's work, women and God. The God part is my optional contribution - I really do think that people should always be thinking about something. i often randomly ask people "what are you thinking right now?" and am truly suprised at how frequenly "nothing" is returned. granted, some of that is going to be people who are thinking things that they don't want to talk about ("i'm thinking about driving my car into a brick wall" or "i'm thinking about shaving my head and pulling out my front two teeth to see if anyone notices"). but overall...WoW. so yes...my brain is full and this is my blowoff valve (you're welcome). women are tedious. in general, my relationships are great for just about the first year. it seems to get "serious" after that (not that it isnt for the first year, but it's a different kind of serious that's not so much fun). i'm terribly hesistant to vent too much for fear of general sympathy but what the heck - if not here, then where? i'm really wondering if me struggling is !)me having a valid complaint @)me being weak and selfish, complaining about something totally arbitrary )satan attacking my mind and making things bigger than they really are or what. Based on the order that they came out (analyzing my subconscious), i'm obviously leaning towards number !. i honestly feel like I put out more into the relationship. that could be in my head as well...i feel so often as though I have so much to give but I'm constantly being barraged with what I'm going to call "relationship flack"...in that there are things that should be small...should be trivial enough to let drop, but they are still brought up in a prodding, sarcastically agressive way. (i know what I mean). i feel like I get the butt end of the stick so much of the time...I get to see her absorb so much and deal with so much from co-workers that she is not in love with but when she gets home, it's like the flip of a coin and there is no patience, no tolerance, no love in much of anything that we do. i'm whining now...i know this. but dang...i'm not talking about somebody that i'm seeing for a week or whatever...i feel like we have been sliding down this hill for 2 years now...there are a few things that improve, but the ones that dont have become much worse. is there a point where we can't just work on 1 or 2 things and we have to just bite the bullet and really figure out what is bugging eachother? that's another thing...i'm the only one that brings up "issues" and when i do bring them up, she does her part and tries to not let my complaints bother her. so it ends up that I feel like i'm working on the relationship by bringing things up that are bothering me so we can work on them and she does her part by not getting frustrated about all the crap I give her....so it's pretty much a no-win game. i get more and more frustrated...it's a circle or perhaps a downward spiral. typically, we go through ups and downs but lately, it feels like we go through neutrals and really far downs...more drastic, never really getting to the happy times (much less frequently). ok...i need to shift gears...

help - god - seek - dunno (ported from myspace)

God is Odd. Not so much God but how we interact with Him. It is a little looney actually. It is almost like my blogging. Ok, ok, context. I know. So...i'm pondering God and my relationship with Him and it amazes me how consistant we are at being inconsistant with God. It is SOOOO easy to forget about God and how great He is when things are going well but when stuff turns south, we're all about God. If I were drawing out the footprints poem, there would pretty much always be 1 set of footprints - Gods. When times are bad, we just jump into His arms and beg for love/life/help/grace/mercy/icecreamflavoroftheweek and when times are good, we are nowhere to be found. Similar to blogging in that I usually find myself blogging when I'm down/frustrated/stressed (in need of God) or infrequently/inconsistantly otherwise. It's horrible

God is so amazing. He has so much to offer each of us...we just have to reach out for Him and move in closer. I'm ok being random...but with God...it just won't work. I have so much respect for Christians that have stayed true...started churches...started new ministries...and stuck with them. I know that for the most part, there are a core group of believers that hold eachother up and support eachother...but it's still an amazing thing. each and every one of us can do that. what is your passion? what gifts has God given you? obviously these are questions that I'm beating myself up about but they are totally things that everyone should be dwelling on and seeking out God's plan for their lives. Dunno man...i'm still working on that for myself. God does want me in ministry...I truly am a kid at heart...that much I do know (which is awesome :) )...but the rest is a total unknown. So...for now...I cling to God and seek him with my time.

I'm seriously considering taking tomorrow off to just dwell on that and seek God out (I think he might be hiding in the Rockies ;) ). but seriously...yeah...I do need some quiet time alone where I can really just seek Him and see if He has something great to show me this week. Who knows...I think I'm always tired...maybe I should go to bed on time tonight to ensure that my batteries are fully charged for whatever He has in store for me. Dunno

(and yeah...barlow girl...so what?)

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

sick (ported from myspace)

healthy people don't need a doctor --sick people do. i have come to call not those who think they are righteous but those who know they are sinners. - mark 2.17

i'm pretty sure I have seen this before...but it strikes me every time. i guess I get hung up on the balance between the two worlds...those who don't think they are righteous and those who are not sick (unless of course, they are mutually exclusive in which case, hey...what can i say, i'm wasting words here). actually, it is also recorded in matthew...a little differently:

'healthly people don't need a doctor --sick people do.' Then he added 'now go and learn the meaning of this scripture: 'i want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.' for I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.' - matthew 9.12-13.

odd differentiation...i want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices...almost as though Jesus is saying that we should not focus so much on what we have done wrong but on what we can do right for others. i had a wake up call to something very similar this past weekend...Jason d'souza was teaching about the various commandments in the Bible (there are 613 total)...of which Loving God is first and loving your (thy) neighbor is second. it really hit me and made me wonder if my priorities were straight. i think i tend to digress down the chain of commandments without really realizing it. i havent typically spent much time loving on God...reading the Bible, praying/meditating...and that is pretty lame. it's so easy to focus on things that are in our faces everyday...sex...stealing...patience...without even touching on the things that God wants from us the most. it's really strange. but anyways...it was good that I heard what i did...i like wake up calls (most of the time...and i'm not talking about actual phone calls that wake me up...'cause they usually suck).

maybe i'm way off in my interpretation. that's another funny (probably not so much) thing about the Bible...there are SOOOO many different interpretations/translations of it and within those, there are SOOOO many different interpretations of the translations...it's pretty insane. I almost feel as though I could find a church somewhere that would interpret a verse in just about any and every shade of grey. that's where i have always felt pretty solid about myself and my own perspective. i really feel that in life and in God, we have to find our own paths...we have to trust what God has given each of us in the way of grey matter and really find our own interpretations. not to say that we shouldn't listen to what others say...just that ultimately, God holds each of us accountable for our own actions. i wonder if there really are supposed to be (per God) different interpretations for each of the scriptures...and that each variety speaks to one person or another in order to lead them towards God in their own unique way. so in that...the Vineyard has been pretty great. I really feel like they are open to a lot (liberal) and are almost hippyish in their way of interpreting the Bible. it's very odd...with open expression of spiritual gifts...people speaking in tongues...truly a new experience for me. i'm still not sure where i'm at with that. I get uncomfortable easily (as evidenced by a bead of sweat forming on my brow) which is something that God truly has quelled at times.

another nugget:
the sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the needs of the sabbath. - mark 2.27

very interesting. i dont think I have heard that before...oh...i guess i have (it's underlined in my Bible). i'm a little slow tonight. oh well. work has been draining. too much stuff to do, too little time. i guess that's better than the alternative...i really dislike not having things to do at work. so the verse...it almost feels like Jesus is saying that we should use the Sabbath for that which we consider to be making the most use of it. (did that even make sense?)...but it's very generic. like saying "woman was made to meet the needs of man and not man to meet the needs of the woman" ok, that was a little chauvenistic...and doesnt quite draw a parallel...hmm..."computers were made to meet the needs of people and not people to meet the needs of computers" that's much better. so it feels like Jesus is saying that we can mostly do what we want on the Sabbath...as it is a day of rest for us (that we can choose to use in any way we see fit - with all of the basic underlying assumptions about not doing things that bring shame to God and all that).

i'm getting tired and my content feels to be heading towards diminishing returns very shortly...

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

waffles (ported from myspace)

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...life is so odd. in some ways, things are predictable, regular...just the same old day to day "stuff". the wake up and go to work mode; the hey, i'm hungry feed me mode; the golly gee i'm tired leave me alone mode...then there's God. God has a way of not conforming (who would have thought, eh?)...God just does his own thing...stuff happens on His timing...we are merely reeds in the wind when it comes to God. the avg day to day stuff just blows off the table...life comes to a halt...things are blown out of perspective...life STOPS and yet, it speeds up at the same time. 4 hours feels like days...4 days seem like 10 minutes...connections are made...issues are surfaced, tears are shed.
Godisamazing - iamweak.
that about sums it up. i am soooo soooo weak. it's terribly sad. God reveals so much to me yet I still do not make a full hearted effort. He is so distant at times (when I do not seek Him)...He is so close at other times...I am so high maintenance...like many women that I know (in relationships)...ok...guys can be high maintenance too but it really seems as though our society encourages the art of being high maintenance for women. it's almost as though the feel like they are more desirable if they are tough to deal with...maybe they're just playing hard to get or whatever. it's still lame...whatever the excuse (reason).
Back to God. I have come back to God. I am talking about God again. I was not gone from God so much as I never really stuck around long enough to see what He was really about. He constantly amazes me in the depth...in the sheer amount of *stuff* that's going on with Him. God is always on time...that will never cease to blow my mind. it is as though he is a puppeteer, carefully orchestrating a dance amongst many many puppets that are all sorta free minded but still mostly under his control...knowing all, pulling strings here and there to ensure that they are all in time...that they (we) hear Him when He calls...dance with joy and generally just live life.
i have spent a ton of time gaming in the past few months...a ton of time that could/should have been spent actually DOING something meaningful...even if it were only spent learning just a bit more about linux, reading some dorky tech book, browsing the web...whatever...it would have been better spent. I spent so much time this weekend seeking God and begging for Him to move closer to me...to pull me in...to fill me...to help me...then so much more time thanking Him for all of the blessings from the weekend. Now that I'm back home...I need to be reading the Bible more...to hold myself accountable to what I know I should do (ten second pause to go grab Bible)...to spend time with God...to meditate on God...to seek Him out...to read the Bible more...to pray out loud...to consciously focus on Loving God as the focus of my life...to re-prioritize my life...
I considered getting rid of my PS3 for a long while this past weekend...I guess I figure that gaming just consumes (eats without productive any worthwhile by-products) my time. I think I realized just how much free time I have...and how I totally throw it down the toilet when I game. It's not that it's a terrible thing...just that there's so much more that I could be doing with my time, my life than to "play" online for hours at a time, days in a row, months on end.
I just ordered a book that I think will help me out..."How to read the Bible for all it's worth" I'm thinking that this will be the start of a new path of education and wisdom-gaining...I plan to spend time at nights (I'm a night person) reading the Bible (devotional time) and also reading other "value-add" books...tech/Godspeak/whathaveyou...they must be value-add.
mybrain=becomemush@now;Istoptyping,k?bye

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

leftovers (ported from myspace)

so many thoughts...sitting around in my head. not that I would call them pent up thoughts...they are not held captive...but they do yearn for freedom.
often, thoughts feel as though they are just percolating...marinating..."getting ready" to be released. they are not always fully formed when they are set free, but it must be their time. so many things to think, so few things worth saying.

this weekend's talk hit home to me in regards to prayer. it is a very interesting thing to me, this prayer topic. honesty with oneself is imperative in truly developing as a human (not that i'm pretending that there is a "should" or something to be acheived as a human, but more of a personal "should" for each of us to stive for and to spend our lives growing into). honesty is insanely difficult to achieve in this world of perceptions and having to protect and develop one's image. honesty requires that we are unbiased about ourselves.

my thoughts digress... |next|

thoughts are amazing. the process of thinking is fascinating. i often find myself overfull, overwhelmed with this or that. call it work life relationships, call it whatever but my head fills up. I have too many thoughts (of late, it is suprising even to me that I do not overload on wedding topics) to process that invade - attacking my sanity one second at a time. often i am too lax with myself...not paying attention to what is running through my head...checking out without stopping to check in to see what is crossing the scanner at the checkoutstation of my thoughts...buying whatever happens to pop up in front of my human eyes (flawed as they are). it is so easy to let the guard down.

|next|

it is difficult to focus on meaning. meaning to who? who is this written for? it is written to help in bringing what might otherwise be lost as unconscious jargon up to the conscious level and forcing it to be processed and seen by my own two eyes. bringing thoughts that _could_ be worth thinking up to the surface for processing. thoughts are so easily lost. they sink down into the depths of our overfull brains...possibly never to see the light of the conscious again. some of the best ideas are lost exactly this way. they pop up (no, not like your IE experience) are barely acknowleged, then sink down into the vast wilderness that is the rest of the brain. where are these thoughts stored and where can we find them? why didnt I get a library card for all of the data in my head? why am I not able to recall and checkout any piece of data that intrigues me? I am subject to some other control...my thoughts are not mine, they are only fleeting, temporary gifts that stop in to say "hi" then leave just as fast. few stay...few that are taken in for a quality look...

Saturday, October 06, 2007

friday ramblings (ported from myspace)

insatiable appetite for more
where does this appetite for MORE originate? where in my being do these desires come from? there is always something else to be desired...something else to WANT. I want to not want. wanting is such a waste of time of thought and above all, of money. i have a macbook...i WANT a macbook pro. why? it's faster...nicer...whatever. but i really don't understand the underlying desire for it. it's going to be the same experience overall...still just a keyboard, screen and other junk that I use to connect to the net from whatever coffee shop...a newer, larger apple logo (whatever)...but at the end of the day, it's the "same" experience...but it costs me an extra $1000. i suppose that could be justified...whatever that means. i'm not really making money with this thing (though i have)...that's not really the point of the whole exercise.

life is so weird. we have what we have, wanting what we do not have, knowing that when we do obtain that which we desire, we will yet again regain a desire for something else. it is a never ending cycle...apparently to repeat for this cycle of days that is life. it's almost comical, really. we can consciously realize what is happening, yet we are still subject to the will of the beast.

sokny has been in cincinnatti this week so i have had some spare time. typically i will either just hide out in the bedroom after work, watching movies and/or computing the nights away...or wander aimlessly from retail outlet to retail outlet in search of something to spend my duckets on. this trip was no exception...i spent the first night watching movies and computing...yesterday i went to the mall and bought some socks...a few shirts and whatever.

retail is very similar to movies actually. retail - buy shirts, socks whatever...just to wear them for a few months/years/days...and throw them away..just money down the drain. movies...we spend money basically just to be entertained. most are "ok" with a few here and there that actually make an impact on our lives. very silly we are. we are so basic...almost like animals with our carnal desires...so basic... we spend so much of our lives just living life...without really delving into finding what really matters. what matters? is it family or having kids or getting married or having a wildly successful career? maybe a little bit of a few of those...but i'm not really convinced that many of these add up to much. at the end of the day or rather, at the end of life...what matters? we all die. everything will eventually end up as dust...even the parthanon, the colluseum...stonehenge...everything will fade, it's glory but a second in the grand scheme of this multi billion year old earth that we are current residents of.

obviously this boils back down to the eternal truth...but i'm still struggling with it...coming to terms with that which i know to be true....i'm not sure if i'm just slow to trust or if i'm just destined to spend my life in the throes of a passionate struggle for "the meaning of life"...gaining slight clarity after/during each internal battle...

ugh...weird. well, i'm going to head into frys now (currently at lunch, writing into a notepad from a non-wifi location)...and indulge in some more senseless retail shopping...

Saturday, September 29, 2007

imperfections (ported from myspace)

life is so obviously imperfect. it's too obvious to be coincidence. i think i was pondering my relationship earlier today and it really made me wonder. i'm kind of retarded at times. i often marvel at how retarded i can be in this relationship. just the ridiculous "small" arguments that linger on through the day...they blow my mind. it is so difficult for me (both of us) to let go of the small stuff. i wish it was easier, this life thing...but at the same time, i don't. if life were easier (let's just call it "perfect"), we wouldn't have anything to look fwd to. what would be the point in heaven (other than the ol' eternal life thing) if earth was perfect. each of us has our own custom reality that has it's own imperfections.

if i had been born into a different country - i'm going to use thailand because i have at least a little bit of experience with that country - i'm betting that i would still struggle with various imperfections in life and i would still find life just "reasonably satisfying". actually, i was tempted for quite awhile to ditch out on this stress filled, overly complicated, let me check my calendar (oh wait, i only use it for work), life that is my existence here for the much less complicated, much simpler life that is life on an island in the Andaman sea.

it's crazy. there is this huge balance between living a good christian life and living in america. i'm not so sure that it's a balance...i tend to put everything in context of "struggles". i struggle with things. it's my internal checks and balances. it feels like this life just pulls in the wrong direction when it comes to so many key issues. sex - my body ALWAYS tells me the wrong thing. my head tells me the wrong thing slightly less than half of time time...it's only when i force myself to change my perspective that i do the right thing. and society? "pop culture" yeah...that's pretty much just another big anchor tied to my foot pulling me down.

imperfections, yes. so we are here on this earth to realize this, to step back and take a deep breath...to exclaim "wow, this really is jacked up" and to seek out the truth that is so ingrained in these exact imperfections...we see evidence of the perfection that God promises us when we look at the earth...at the sunsets and amazing cloud formations that we are graced with ever too infrequently (in so cal). looking at anything from a macro level...it might just seem perfect. look at a mountain range. from a helicopter, flying over, the range is sooo impressive. the lake looks too blue to be real...everything looks like a painting. zoom in a bit...the mountains are nothing but rocks...dry and lifeless...heaps of them. there is nothing to substantiate the earlier perception of perfection. the lake. it is nothing more than near-freezing water...run off from a glacier up the way. not to go too far into the analogy...the concept behind is solid.

imperfections. so here we are with this world. what to do. we struggle with anything that we might consciously know to be good. there are always barriers to be knocked down, TV stations not to watch...but is that to be our focus? it seems that constant struggles are just the result of giving in, of being pulled down. why spend life focused on the struggles when it could just as easily be spent on lovin others. i'm not sure that it's really that easy. if we don't stop to analyze and drill into the issues that impact us, we will not be able to firm up enough to be the solid foundation that is required when building anything substantial. i would not build my house on sand (yada yada) so why would i expect God to want to build his house (the Church) on people that are not grounded and have a well earned, educated faith in Him. (quick mental parallel to a retirement planner) what to do what to do. constantly seek the balance between building the foundation and reaching out. spend time investing in solid personal growth while also making the effort to reach out to others and plant seeds.

hmm. so how and when to build and such...i am getting tired...this is going to have to marinate more...after more rest, that is.

titles lie...topics change (ported from myspace)

"A Christ-centered church is not a showcase for saints but a hospital for sinners"
- Randy Alcorn, Heaven, page 35 (http://www.amazon.com/Heaven-Randy-C-Alcorn/dp/0842379428/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-5380703-1512938?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191103913&sr=8-1)

Wow. not really much more to add to this except that i don't think that i have yet to find a church that speaks like this to me. i own part of that. it is (also) up to me to make it known to others what i am about and what i want the church to be about. WE are the church. the church is not a building that we go to on sundays, it's a group of people that get together on sundays (and it just so happens that they have a building and whatnot to hang out in). i'm definitely a sinner and definitely more in the hospital than in the realm of saints.

there is so much darkness inside each of us. darkness that we must fight against, rallying for the truth. we fight these battles internally every day as well as externally. each day as we head out of our residences, we head into battle, armed with the tools of Ephesians 6:10-17. it is so tough to grasp at times that we truly are battling for God EVERY day, every moment. we are being assailed by the dark one...our thoughts intertwined with darkness...being pulled down by the beautiful woman at the bank or the new computer that we can't afford at best buy. we are encouraged by some unseen being to do things that are rooted in evil, that if we let them take hold, will pull us down and keep the veil over our eyes. we must rise up. we must persevere and become greater than what we are today. this is temporary. we are all temporary and need to keep that in focus.

it continually impresses me that we can be so much more than we are. I often feel stuck in this eternal road that leads almost flat...the road to our destinies. it is so easy to get caught up in this world, to plan the big wedding, to spend money frivolously...what is greater - a new phone and a faster computer that will bring many hours of (selfish, self-centered) entertainment or financially backing a struggling christian radio station and adding on to the children's ministry at church? putting it in that kind of black and white, hit or miss comparison, it seems obvious. it's really easy to say...but freakin hard to actually DO. when the paychecks come in and the money does it's thing, seemingly disappearing from the bank on it's own...yeah. well...that's how it can go sometimes. take charge...make the conscious decision to do what you know is right. so much of life feels like sitting in a boat moving down the river. things pass...time flies by...and somehow, we just end up at the end of the river. what if God has more in store for us than that? what if God wants me to jump out of the boat at the next turn...test the waters....what then? will i jump? or will i just sit back and ride it out, knowing that there's always more grace to cover over my weakness? i keep asking God to make it more obvious to me when he's calling...but i wonder if i'm just not hearing because i'm afraid. dunno.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

leave the seat (ported from myspace)

one of the oldest questions in male-female relations will be answered today once and for all. so i'm at a coffee shop...and after drinking (and purging) some coffee, it dawns on me: the toilet seat in public male-female bathrooms should, without a doubt be left up.

here's the (irrefutable) logic: think about little 5 year old male kids going to the bathroom. have they been trained to leave the seat up? nope. they just let it go wherever it may go...spraying to their little heart's delight. if the seat is in the default female position (down), we all lose. when women go in there, they lose 100% of the time. when guys go in there...we're set to lose about 25% of the time (+/- depending on how much fiber was in the diet).

now, let's flip the coin and leave the seat up. this is a win for everyone! the seat will stay SOOOOO much cleaner...the little guys can stay with their current pattern...and we all win. the seat will always be soooo much cleaner, nobody has to worry about having to clean up a rainstorm's worth of "moisture" from the seat....

OMG...such a breakthrough. I just had to share. It is a beautiful day in the world, i must say.

You're welcome...tell your friends, neighbors and coworkers

Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAllCustom&friendId=4476620&swapped=true&page=3#ixzz0ukbZ5EdP