it’s raining again

It is raining outside. Again.

Don’t get me wrong… we need the rain, bad!

However, several times today, people told me to ’stay dry.’ Has anyone ever told you that? What does that mean, really? Is it really that much better to stay dry?

Don’t you ever want to just go out and play in the rain? You know…

Just run in the rain until you are soaked.

Jump in every puddle you can find.

Stand there looking up into the sky with your mouth wide open as you try to drink the rain.

Wwhen I was a kid, we looked forward to playing in the rain! And we were allowed to stay outside as long as it wasn’t thundering.

That’s where I learned that cool trick about counting the mississippi’s to see how far away the thunder and lightning were. And if it was far enough away, then I would negotiate with my parents to let me stay out there longer…

Then that’s when I learned to try to say ‘mississippi’ as fast as humanly possible so that I would have a better case because it was ’so far’ away!

What about you?

Don’t you sometimes just want to go outside and play in the rain?

How do we get that back? How do we shake off all of the newly ingrained ideas that we have now that prevent us from being free like that?

Thoughts? And the only excuse that I’ll accept for not responding is that you were actually outside playing in the rain!

how to be awesome

Recently TED Talks posted an organ performance from Qi Zhang that was simply awesome! This is what the TED website has to say about her…

Originating from Shanghai, China, Qi Zhang graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor’s in Electronic Organ. She is currently a Master of Music student at University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, studying organ performance with Professor Cherry Rhodes.
 
Zhang has been playing since the age of nine, performing in various venus in Shanghai, nationwide and overseas, including an electronic organ concert at Shanghai Concert Hall. She won First Prize in the International Electronic Organ Competition in Spain in 2004.

“The music being played sounds nothing like an organ; it’s a symphonic tune reminiscent of a Walt Disney World fireworks show. But all being played by her! Whoa! Drums, percussion, horns, strings … incredible.”
             — Brian Stokes

 
YouTube Video :: Qi Zhang's electrifying organ performance

After watching this performance, I had a few thoughts about how to be awesome…

1. You don’t have to ease into doing something amazing.
2. You don’t need the coolest tools in order to create something awesome.
3. In order to do something excellent, you must commit your whole body to it.
4. It’s okay to throw in a little extra for dramatic effect.
5. Sometimes you need to go fast, and other times you need to slow it down.
6. Doing something great takes a proportionate amount of focus.
7. When you rock, people will applaud you for your performance.
8. It is important to be gracious when people applaud your work.

too much to process

I’ve been home from my mission trip to Kenya and Uganda for several days now, and I am still struggling to fully process everything that I’ve experienced over there.

So many memories.

So many emotions.

So many ideas.

So many questions.

First of all, I want you to know that I think that Kenya and Uganda are both amazingly beautiful countries. Everywhere we went, I was blown away by the scenery. Rolling hills and mountains rich with crops of pineapples, bananas, coffee and tea. It was some of the most beautiful land that I have ever seen in my life.

The people were amazing too. There are lots of words that I would use to describe them all…

Resilient.

Resourceful.

Loving.

Beautiful (especially the children).

But the extreme poverty that we experienced there simply rocked my world.

I feel somewhat guilty now that I am home and get to take a shower in my nice, clean bathroom. Then I can go sit on my big, comfy couch in my air-conditioned living room while I catch up on TV shows recorded on my DVR while I was gone.

Then I go back to work, and sit in my nice office… the one with way more desk space than what I really need, and where I complain about how my chair squeaks when I move a certain way.

If there is one thing that I am able to process right now, then it is the fact that even those of us who are in ‘rough’ shape here in the United States are still extremely blessed.

We are blessed more than we realize.

For me realizing that fact only prompts more questions in my heart and my mind. I begin to ask myself things like what I will (really) do with the many blessings that I have. And with the things that I have swirling through my head right now, questions like this only stir it all up even more.

What is a blessed child of God to do?

I can tell you that I am not going to take things for granted anymore. I consider myself very blessed, and I will certainly remember to be more thankful for the blessings (and opportunities) that I have (that I know others don’t have).

do we need to rethink church?

A few folks on the High Calling Blogs network have been passing this around, and I cannot help but to share it here. It is a humorous look at “church marketing,” but more importantly is an eye-opening illustration of how crazy some of our church behavior and practices really are. I’m not saying that I have all of the answers, but simply want to ask the question, “do we need to rethink church?” Watch this video, and then try to answer that question…

YouTube Video :: Video :: What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church? A Parable.

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