What's real.

We place so much value on worthless things.

Our comfort,

Our possessions,

Our internet lifestyles.

     All things that, in the end, have no real value. When was the last time your facebook profile made you feel truly fulfilled? When was the last time your $5,000 bike looked you in the eyes and said "you're worth it"? 

  I think somewhere in our affluent, engorged, gluttonous American lifestyle, we've lost sight of the "Real Things". A breath of cold air, our words, a friend's loyalty, a parent's love, glorious mountains, awash in evening's amber light, Jesus' sacrifice, courage, selflessness and tenacity.  

 Maybe instead of just making commitments to "exercise more", or "call Mom more often", we should embark on a search for "what's real". Those things that no one can take from us, those things that affect the soul. This year, let's stop wasting our most valuable resource, and begin investing our time in things that won't turn to dust.

 So here's to time well spent. Enjoy real life!

Oh, p.s., if you're looking for a good source for your "real things" list, I know a great book. The Author is totally an authority on what's real.

Rocky road.

 Admittedly, the ice cream is delicious. The more literal rocky roads, however, can throw us for quite a loop. Truth is, it's not just one road. Life's like an intricate network of paths, with each intersection a decision, and each road a destiny. My fear is not that the road will get too difficult, but that I'm on the wrong one. Perhaps I made the wrong decision at the last fork? What if I'm going the wrong direction entirely? Sometimes I feel lost. Is that because I am, or is the road just more convoluted and painful than I thought? Sometimes I feel like I'm this high-tech gadget that I haven't quite figured out how to operate. It's got tons of potential, but the right combination of pulling this knob and pushing that button has thus far eluded me. 

  I'd like to wrap this up, all nice and shiny...with a bow on top. But the truth is, I'm still working through it. Sometimes, you're just not sure what to do. The journey is not for the faint of heart, but I know one thing, and that's that no matter the difficulty, we can't stop.

"But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul." Deuteronomy 4:29 

Basket case.

Cars that are beyond hope, and in so many pieces that they have to be transported in boxes, are called "basket cases".

I am a basket case.
I'm in a billion pieces, but I still somehow believe that by putting one more coat of paint on, I'll be whole.

Maybe I even had you fooled.
Maybe you thought "wow, what a nice looking car!"

Or maybe you saw right through...to the Truth:

I'm just an old junker with many, many coats of paint, trying to make up for the fact that I still don't run.

That's the bad news.

Sometimes, however, despite how far gone a car is, a mechanic will take up the challenge of restoring it to a better-than-new condition.

(you know where I'm going with this, don't you?)

I believe that's what God wants to do with my life. Instead of just putting more and more coats of paint over a depleted old shell, He's rebuilding me from the ground up.

That's something I can never do on my own...believe me...I've tried.

A lot.

Maybe you're me. A basket case with lots of shiny paint. Sooner or later, the rust will overcome your most valiant efforts, and you'll have to admit to yourself and everyone else what you really are.

But that's okay.

Because as every good restoration pro knows, you have to strip away the paint, and start from the ground up, so that the new paint will have a good foundation.

I am a basket case.

God is a mechanic.

I'm done painting.




I can take no credit for this writing. I haven't written anything worthwhile in a long time, so if you resonated with it, thank God.





 

Balding Eagle.

   I would like to post this video, not because of the video itself, but because of the comments underneath it. It's seriously one of the most sad and pathetic things I've seen. No one is even talking about the content, and this ridiculous hatred is smeared everywhere. Apparently to everyone else, Americans = fat, lazy, uneducated, unintelligent, arrogant, ingrown idiots. Thank goodness there are none of those kinds of people anywhere else.

Enjoy. Asprin is on the third aisle, two shelves down.

Through your eyes.

I have questions, lots of them.

Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever find the answers, despite all my searching.

   Today, I found one. Or maybe I should say one found me, because we really have no wisdom in ourselves. (The trick: remembering that). Here's how it went down:

   I'm a little moody sometimes. I'll admit it. But it's not the normal moody, it's seriously like the bottom drops out of my boat for weeks on end. I'd say I'm generally a pretty happy guy. I like to have fun and enjoy life immensely, but sometimes, it all goes wrong. If you know me casually, you may never notice. I just may seem a little less open, or not hold your gaze. I may not talk as much and not crack as many jokes. Inside though, there's a war raging. Usually its set off by long periods of frustration or large defeats. C'mon, don't tell me you just shrug those things off? Oh. Well anyway, not everyone does...like me. It's the weirdest thing, even sitting here trying to explain it, it gets all confused in my head. I think when it comes down to it, sometimes my confidence just takes a leave of absence, and I can't get it back. Don't think I mope around the house and eat bratwurst all day when this happens. If I did, you'd probably think it's self-imposed, and you'd be totally right. But I stay busy, get exercise, and try to be productive. In short, I do everything I know of to combat it, and it still persists. I think my mind is in the right place, but my feelings just won't cooperate.

  But enough about that. Every time this happens, I rack my brain for reasons. Why?? What am I doing wrong?? It's on my mind during the day and keeps me up at night. (For an hour at least!!!). Slowly, an idea formed in my head. Tonight, it became clear.

   Empathy. How much easier is it for you to empathize with someone who's hurting, when you've gone through the same thing? How much more grace will you have when someone is awkward and shy, if you've had the same struggle? That's the revelation that poured into my soul tonight. It gave me hope that my battles, however confusing, aren't in vain.

    God's works aren't futile. When you trust Him, he works in you. Even if it hurts. Even if it makes you confused, angry and frustrated. Even if you "lose". Tonight, I was taught by my Guru, only this time I found Him in the valley. I know what it feels like, to feel out of place, self-aware and awkward. In those moments, all I wanted was for someone to say, "It doesn't matter. Your performance means nothing to me, come join our family". Now I know. When the tables are turned, I hope it'll me me saying those words to someone else looking for love.

   P.S. If you know me, and see me missing an opportunity, remind me of this. Sometimes we....sometimes I forget.

Caleb W. 

The Matrix.

A comment I read recently on a blog, on the subject of the internet's sometimes predominance over "real life": 

"This really is a big issue, and it's kind of sad.  I turned off my facebook, so I wouldn't be tempted to sit on there instead of studying during exams (which as it turns out, there are many other things I can find to distract myself from studying), and my husband's grandma texted me a few days later, very upset that she could no longer see her family because I had left facebook... I felt a little bad, and then I realized, she lives TWO houses away from us.  She can see her family any time she wants to!"

  I'm beginning to dislike facebook more and more. It's pathetic, the size of our life it's taken up, displacing other important things. I know, it's nothing new...our Moms told us this would happen years ago, haha. 

 I'm not talking about using the internet as a tool, or even entertainment occationally. It's the constant pointless checking and re-checking, browsing through funny, but useless photos, and just wasting time that seems to have become so common. The internet has given us so much true opportunity, and we've abused it.

  A class I'm taking about money talks about the "opportunity cost" of our monitary decisions. Like, if I buy 200 candy bars, I won't have the opportunity to go to summer camp. I feel like that applies to our time as well. What if, instead of wasting half of my waking hours on facebook and pinterest, I redeemed that time? 

  In all honesty, this post is really about me, disguised as a dissertation on other's internet habits. I'm sick of watching opportunity slip by, as I check my feed one more time. In the end, it comes down to this:

What am I willing to miss, by sacrificing time on the altar of amusement?