pleasure

pleasure - what is it? one thing i know for sure is that it can be very, very elusive. why do i say that? look at my life. hey! look at our lives - we spend so much time and so much energy pursuing it. and yet we never seem to find it - lasting, eternal pleasure that is. think about it. or don't think about it. i mean, we can smell it, we can kind of see it, we can hear it calling our name, and it's so real we can taste it - if we could only reach out and touch it - pleasure! so, we race after this elusive pleasure. we pursue pleasure in some way our entire lives - from the moment we pop out into this world. man, we start crying. we liked the warmth and security of the womb - it was pleasant. then wow! we're out and we start crying and never stop. why? pleasure! we want pleasure, we want to be happy! and it continues right through young kids era - we need the xbox 360 - to teenagers era - we need the $70 jeans with holes in them - to adults era - we need the jaguar. pleasure! help! it has a hold of me. i'm going under! we're never satisfied. so it begs the question - can we ever truly find pleasure - i mean real pleasure that produces true happiness? i think so, er, what am i saying - i know so. Jesus - our life has to be Him - and talk about pleasure - sweet, i mean really, really sweet.

christmas

Jesus was born - the angels rejoiced - the magi came - the heavenly host gave glory to God - people no longer had to "fear not" for their salvation - and God saw that it was good.

beauty

the other day i commented on a blog by webel, called forevermore, about beauty. he raised the question about whether beauty can be described by words or not. i've been thinking about that a lot. i commented that you can't describe it with words, it has to be experienced - and i'm even more adamant about it now. how can you describe the view you have as you gaze out from the top of big mountain in montana? how can you describe the beauty you see as you walk along a trail in rocky mountain national park. how can you describe the scenery that you gulp down as you stroll the appalachian trail through the smokies? how do you tell someone about the waves that come crashing in along the craggy shore of maine? how do you describe the wondrous dancing of the multiple colored wild flowers on a glade in glacier national park? how do you describe the majesty of the bison and elk in yellowstone? how do you describe the beauty contained within the King of kings? You can't! It's impossible. It's impossible to describe the beauty of His creation. Isn't it wonderful that we don't have to - we can just experience the beauty.

a vapor, then ?

wow! have you taken a look at the calendar lately? 2005 is almost history. impossible! it just began - i mean, just a few short weeks, er, months ago. and now it's gone - like a vapor. doesn't it make you just want to cry out and ask someone why it goes by so quick? yeah, we spend a few short years wanting to get older, then we spend the rest of our lives living in denial. i'm only 29! oh no, the big four-oh is just around the corner. know what i mean? could it be that we realize that life is only a vapor, but we're trying to stop it? could it be that we realize that we are but a vapor and we're trying to add significance to our lives by making it last longer? however, as the psalmist put it, at our best we are but vapor. something to think about as we walk out our lives. however, we can be assured of this - the next life will be eternal and the vapor will have a sweet fragrance - if our eternal state is found in heaven.

good over evil

i saw narnia on friday night with a bunch of teenagers. great movie! the comments i heard were "i could have stayed for the next showing", "wish c. s. lewis could have seen it", "wow", and "that was really neat". it's amazing how far movies have come. however, what's even more amazing is how good still triumphs over evil. yep, we live in a world where good WILL triumph over evil, even though there seems to be so much evil. you can take it to the bank. in the end, aslan will reign supreme and all will be good in narnia. no, not good - things will be indescribable when aslan returns.

happy holiday!?!

have you ever wondered why so many people are saying happy holidays instead of Merry Christmas? i mean what holiday are they talking about? the only one's around are Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year's Day. which one are they referring to? it's confusing me. i just wish people would say what they mean. if they're wishing me a Merry Christmas, then say so. if Hanukkah or New Years, then say so. are people embarrassed? are they timid? are they confused? do they have no identity with one of these days? do they not respect people if they believe in something? or even worse - are they too afraid to stand up for something that counts?

sunday day cares

my wife kris and i were hanging out with some friends last night just talking and solving the world's problems - you know what i mean. all of a sudden he came out with a statement that caught me off guard. he said that most churches were nothing more than "sunday day cares" and that is what so many people are looking for. is that what the church has become? is that what Jesus wants? the Bible seems to indicate that it should be a "dynamic revolutionary movement without walls". does that have anything to do with why only 15% of today's younger generation is expected to be evangelical Christian? something to think about.

more thoughts on life

life is changing! it's so different than it was a few years ago. it's radically different than what it was a few decades ago. it's indescribably different than what it was a few centuries ago. and it seems to be changing more and more rapidly. how are we suppose to keep up? it's like going to your favorite store and finding that they have changed everything around. it happens all the time. but it stresses me out. i'd rather they keep things in the same place. i think we're a lot like that with life. leave it alone! don't mess with it! keep it at the same pace. yet, they keep messing with it. and it keeps stressing people out. kind of bitter sweet. we want more, but we want the same. therefore stress and frustration comes about. maybe we just need to figure out how to be contented with less.

sleepless in missouri

seattle isn't the only place where you can have a sleepless night. it happens everywhere, even in central missouri. why? good question, gary! i think it boils down to the mind. the body wants to go to sleep, but the mind screams out no - i want to think. i want to think about things. then this battle ensues. body tries to rebuke the mind. mind responds with a thrust of activity. body then tries to deceive the mind by pretending it is relaxed and not caring. mind figures that tactic out rapidly and takes advantage by diverting more energy into thinking. body then gets up and paces the floor believing it will wear itself out and steal energy from the mind and simply pass out in bed. but the mind maintains the upper hand by drawing on some unknown energy source and is not thwarted, simply continuing to process the information overload. then the mind strikes the lethal blow - it sends out a raiding party to find an ally in the body - the target being the heart. why does it do that? because the mind knows that if it can get the heart involved as an ally that victory will be assured over the body. see, it's a plot. or is it really the heart getting the mind involved. either way, body loses. so who is really in control? the mind? the body? the heart? the body and the heart? i'm tired and going to bed. hopefully i will fall asleep and not have to figure it out.

thinking about life

i was just reading some stuff about life. you know, it could almost seem like no one has it figured out. no one! the evidence to that is how many different approaches people take to life. some live it on the edge. others are couch potatoes. some think religion is a significant part. others proclaim to be bonafide atheists. some are pleased with their weight. some are dieting constantly. some like sports. others like reading books. i could go on, but you get the point. it seems to me that if we understood what life was about that there would be more commanality to everyone's approach. maybe, just maybe, we're missing the point of life. maybe, just maybe we're not living on the real edge. maybe, just maybe we're taking the wrong approach to life. maybe, just maybe.

the future

i was thinking about my future the other day. there was a time that I was obsessed about my future. it seemed that all i could think about was what it was going to be like, what i was going to do, what catastrophe lay hiding around the corner, who i was going to marry, what job i would have, what happened when you died, and on and on. and it whacked me in the head how much i've changed. i still think about my future, but it's totally different now. i know I'm a citizen of heaven and that my future is eternally and gloriously secured. wow! i also know that God's sovereign hand is on me and that He will take care of me, so even my future here is secure. double wow! and i benefit in the present with peace and contentment. sweet!