Monday, March 28, 2011

Shalom

I cannot stop thinking about the word shalom.

When all shall be set back to its original purpose.

When all shall be well.

When all shall work according to its design.

When all shall be whole.

When all shall be in harmony with how it was supposed to be.

Our souls long for this day of shalom.  Or at least my soul does.  And maybe in recent days moreso than ever.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Storytime...

Hmm...after watching this Donald Miller video, he's got me thinking,
"What's my vision?  What's my dream?  What's my goal?"
"What story is my life telling?"
"Do I arrange everything in my life so as to avoid conflict -- when a good story actually embraces conflict?"
"How do I tell a better story?"

I fear I'm simply living in the background of another's story -- an extra.
I fear my dreams are too small, my spirit too apathetic, my vision uninviting, and my life uninspiring.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

My New Favorite Thing...

Oh my goodness.
I love EVERYTHING about this video.  Every. single. second.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Underdog Upsets

March Madness.
It's dominated my past few blog posts.  I can't stop watching it.  I've bookmarked my bracket standings (which are no good).  And I place myself in locations where I can constantly know what's going on.  It's sad, maybe.  But I'm totally intrigued.  I'm totally sucked in.

What is it about us that seems to love March Madness?  Even my friends who don't like sports have filled out their brackets, have tuned in to the games, and have trash-talked others with their picks.

I think we love March Madness so much because it sets the stage for so many underdog upsets to occur.  But what is it about the underdog upset that we love so much?

Think of Susan Boyle.  Secretariat.  Miracle on Ice.  Butler.

We love these stories.  We love stories about people who beat the odds.  We love stories about teams who overcome the expected.

And I think it's because it ignites our desire for fairness and justice.  Considered an "underdog," insinuates some sort of disadvantage.  Disadvantage in skill, ability, talent, gift, whatever -- they're not as "advantaged" as the expected winner.  And so we love to see justice served -- we love to see the humble made kings, we love to see the meek made conquerors.

I think it's also, maybe even moreso, because we all see a little bit of ourselves in the underdog.  We, as part of the human race, were created to be dreamers.  We were created to believe we would have purpose, we would make a difference, we could live an epic life.  But the world begins to jade us, the world begins to tell us to listen to reason, the world begins to tell us we are naive as dreamers, the world begins to chip and claw away at our dreams.  And so eventually the odds say we will, like most everyone else, live a mediocre life.  We will settle.

But when March Madness comes around, and when Butler beats Pitt [2011] (or Michigan State [2010]), we feel a little hero rise up within us and say, "we can beat the odds!"  "We can dream!  And we can live with purpose in a world that can seem purposeless."

I love March Madness because I think it reveals shades of redemption.  March Madness paints broad, sweeping strokes of redemption -- restoring the humble to kings and restoring the dream of a life lived with purpose.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Party in the U-S-A

In light of the season, thought I'd re-introduce these videos -- fresh from the archives.

How can you NOT have these guys winning it all?!


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

I am a Bracket

This is one of the most hilariously dramatic videos I have ever seen.  But I can't help but get excited for one of the best times of the year!

I've got 3 brackets this year...and every one of them -- OSU: Champions!

Who's your predicted champ this year?

Monday, March 14, 2011

Spring Break

Spring Break 2011.  Snowshoe, West Virginia. 
A total blast.

Was this my view every morning out the back door?  You better believe it was. 

My dear friend Les & I on the lift.

Snowshoe 2011 group.  (Missing some key people here).


This was usually me, however, Ashton ended up getting documented. 

Sunset on the way home.  Beautiful.

I had a blast being active, hittin' the slopes, laughin' a lot, dancing down the slopes to Kanye, soaking in the beautiful scenery, sharing delicious meals together, chatting lightly and deeply, cozying up next to the fireplace, etc.  What a fun trip!  What a fun group of people!  I am thankful for the rich sweetness found in these few days.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

me, me, me!

Driving home from Bowling Green the other day, my chosen iPod playlist was "Mellow Melancholy Madness."  That should tell you something.  After approximately 2 hours in the car, I was just beginning to pull into my hometown.  And I realized something, "98% of my thoughts over the last 2 hours have been about ME."

In some way or another, practically every thought I had was about me.
2 full hours.  Me.

I am selfish.

Somewhere along the way I've begun to think life was about me.

It's so not.

Monday, March 7, 2011

totes random

Latest movie I've really enjoyed: 127 Hours
Craving it's impossible to fight: Graeter's Coconut Chocolate Chip ice cream
Current book I'm reading: Run with the Horses, Eugene Peterson
Latest obsession on Netflix: Friday Night Lights
TV show I never miss: Modern Family 
Best album I've been enjoying lately: the entire Yearbook project; Sleeping at Last
Blog currently cracking me up: Things 90s Kids Realize (A Warm & Fuzzy Cup of Nostalgia For My Fellow 90s Kids)

Sleeping at Last (feat. Jon Foreman) - Birthright

It just doesn't fit!

Trying to be somebody you were never created to be.  It's like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.  And I think many of us (and I, myself), know this feeling all too familiarly.

The more we jam our "square-peg" selves into our "round-hole" created-to-be selves, the more we chip away at our genuine selves in order to make it fit.  We begin to lose our selves in the process.  We begin to risk losing our uniqueness, our creativity, our genuineness, our gifts, our offerings-to-the-world, our...

The world is the created stage for unique square pegs to be just that - square pegs.  The world needs no more square pegs trying to fit into round holes.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Hope deferred

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.