Excerpt from The Giver by Lois Lowry (pg. 97-99):

“Well . . .” Jonas had to stop and think it through. “If everything’s the same, then there aren’t any choices! I want to wake up in the morning and decide things! A blue tunic, or a red one?”

He look down at himself, at the colorless fabric of his clothing. “But it’s all the same, always.”

Then he laughed a little. “I know it’s not important, what you wear. It doesn’t matter. But – ”

“It’s the choosing that’s important, isn’t it?” The Giver asked him.

Jonas nodded. “My little brother – ” he began, and then corrected himself. “No, that’s inaccurate. He’s not my brother, not really. But this newchild that my family takes care of – his name’s Gabriel.”

“Yes, I know about Gabriel.”

“Well, he’s right at the age where he’s learning so much. He grabs toys when we hold them in front of him – my father says he’s learning small-muscle control. And he’s really cute.”

The Giver nodded.

“But now that I can see colors, at least sometimes, I was just thinking: what if we could hold up things that were bright red, or bright yellow, and he could choose? Instead of the Sameness.”

“He might make wrong choices.”

“Oh.” Jonas was silent for a minute. “Oh, I see what you mean. It wouldn’t matter for a newchild’s toy. But later it does matter, doesn’t it? We don’t dare to let people make choices of their own.”

“Not safe?” The Giver suggested.

“Definitely not safe,” Jonas said with certainty. “What if they were allowed to choose their own mate? And chose wrong?

“Or what if,” he went on, almost laughing at the absurdity, “they chose their own jobs?”

“Frightening, isn’t it?” The Giver said.

Jonas chuckled. “Very frightening. I can’t even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices.”

“It’s safer.”

“Yes,” Jonas agreed. “Much safer.”

But when the conversation turned to other things, Jonas was left, still, with a feeling of frustration that he didn’t understand.

Legacy

The following is the invocation speech I gave at the recent Women's Tea put on by Hillview Acres Women's Auxiliary:

Last week the president of the university I attended passed away. In fact, his memorial service is occurring right now as I stand here speaking to all of you. When I received this news yesterday, I was overcome with emotion, but also with pride at the legacy this gentleman leaves behind him. I was also excited at the joy I understood knowing that Dr. Cook has a relationship with Jesus and was welcomed into God’s very presence upon his passing from this world to his true home.

Likewise, we at Hillview deal with issues of legacy everyday. The legacy we have chosen is a legacy of love. I describe what we do at Hillview as simply loving kids who need love. I could spend hours telling you all about what that looks like at Hillview and the philosophies that play out there, but when it comes down to it, we’re really just doing our best to love a handful of abused and neglected children in the same way that God loves us: wholly, unconditionally, and without reserve.

Our legacy of love does not affect just our personal lives for those of us who spend our days working at Hillview, but it also affects the lives of the children who are placed in our care. We all hold the opportunity to participate in this legacy. If you are here in this room today, you, too, are participating in loving those who need love. I applaud you for this.

We hold the opportunity to help the children at Hillview live out a new legacy in their lives. We hold the opportunity to extend hope to the children in our children in our care. Anyone walking on the street might look at any one of our kids and say no hope exists there, but I refuse to believe that lie. As we work to love each kid we also speak truth to them and challenge them to leave their own beautiful legacy behind them. We challenge lies in their lives like, “The world is always scary, Adults can’t be trusted, and I am not valuable and cannot be loved.”

As we build relationship with our kids, God’s legacy of love flows down through us to make a difference in the life of each child at Hillview.

Everyone in the world leaves a legacy. I thank you for choosing to make part of your legacy loving those who need love at Hillview Acres Children’s Home.

Every Monday Matters

I recently came across a website called: www.everymondaymatters.com. The site serves to encourage people to live life a little more intentionally with a little more meaning. It gives a list of practical ideas anyone can do on any given Monday (or any day for that matter). Ideas range from making a list of life priorities to writing a military hero to puchacing energy efficient light bulbs. If anyone checks out the site and actually participates in any of the suggested activities, I'd love to hear about your experience. Feel free to respond to this post and share your story!

A Clouded State of Mind

Have you ever had your mind filled with bricks? I think I have. For the last couple of weeks I feel like I’ve had thoughts in my head, but they haven’t gone anywhere. My mind has been a stagnant pond just sitting in its own gunkiness. It’s interesting that sometimes God gives us many little revelations of Truth and sometimes we’re just stagnant. Nonetheless, in some amazing way God continues to produce fruit in us despite (and so often because of) our life’s circumstances and the effect they have on ours minds.

It seems like God is bringing me a little bit out of my clouded state of mind and producing some interesting thoughts in me. With that said, though I have taken a couple week hiatus from my blog articles, I have already penned a couple new ones which I hope to post sometime next week.

For anyone who actually reads these articles and is encouraged or challenged by them, thank you for being open to one rusty tool that for some reason God chooses to bless and use for His purposes.

Wisdom for the Wise

I recently participated in a study of wisdom based on the book of Proverbs. One thing I learned is that wisdom is all around us, but we need to play a part in searching for it. That sounds like a wise thing to do.

Proverbs is full of many insightful comments that apply to a vast variety of areas in life. There’s no way I could ever memorize all these little pieces of wisdom, but as I study them all together I realize that like the topics Proverbs covers, wisdom is found in a vast variety of areas.

As I have finished up my study of Proverbs I have come to reflect on how the study changed me as a person in this encounter with this book of wisdom. I have realized that it could be very easy to say, “Oh that was a great study,” then walk away and never think about it again. However, I’m convinced that wouldn’t wise. Instead, I intend to be changed due to my encounter with God’s Word; I desire to continue to intentionally search for the treasure that is wisdom. As I embark on this adventure I expect that God will journey with me giving me what I seek as I can handle it along the way and growing me in the entire process.

Wisdom is not just for anyone. Yes, it is available to all, but only the wise, with God’s grace, will seek it out or even recognize when they encounter it. I challenge you to be one of the wise that seeks wisdom. Don’t ignore it or let it pass you by. “Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight and understanding. Search for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure. Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:2-5).

Passions Regained

I recently went camping at Joshua Tree National Park. I grew up in the sagebrush strewn desert of Northern Nevada and often visited the picturesque desert of Arizona where my grandparents lived; the desert remains very much a part of me and holds to be something deep and inexplicable within.

As my wife and I started nearing the park and I began seeing the beautiful desert landscape around me, something awoke inside. I felt memories of childhood flood into my mind. A sense of adventure arose within me. I felt a desire to explore and run and climb. I felt a peace like returning to the home you grew up in. I felt a joy that made me want to burst in deep felt laughter. I felt both like a playful child and a mature, solemn adult reflecting on life all the same time.

I was a little surprised to be feeling this sudden surge of passion and desire. It causes me to ask some questions. Where was that passion hiding before I drove out the desert? Exactly why did the desert serve as a trigger to bring it up? Could something have served to awaken these hidden passions?

I wonder if passions in the rest of my life work in a similar way. I so often walk around going through the day to day of life with little or no passion. Perhaps there are some hidden within me just waiting for some a gateway through which they can be released. If so, what are those gateways and how can I tap into them? Will it always take another trip to the desert for me to feel alive?

Now please don’t hear me wrong. Each day is filled with its own adventures and passions, but it’s also easy to lose those things in the mundane and stressful journey of just making it through life. If I lived my life through the passions I felt arise while visiting the desert I’m convinced my life would look much different.

I intend to be intentional about seeking God in opening me to the passions He has created within me. I want to live life to the fullest and in such a way that I feel fully alive each day, not just partly. I want to reflect God’s glory in such a way that the only explanation is His touching my life.

What about you? Where are your passions? Have they dissipated into the air of life? If so, what are you going to do to regain those passionate gifts God has bestowed upon you? Run to your desert, wherever it may be; with God's grace your passions will be found.

Servant Leader

Have you ever really considered the fact that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet at the last Supper? Yes, I know we all know the story, but actually think about it. Imagine yourself there. What would it be like to have Jesus ask to wash your feet?

Have you ever washed someone’s feet yourself? I have. It’s not something easy to do because it is very humbling. Have you ever had your feet washed by someone else? That is even tougher for me. I can’t say exactly why, but having someone on the ground at my feet washing them is just tough for me to accept. I understand Peter’s reaction to Jesus when initially he didn’t want his feet washed by him.

So why did Jesus wash his disciples’ feet. He was the leader of these men. They had followed him to all sorts of places and in all sorts of situations. He obviously had their trust and their devotion. He didn’t wash their feet to gain that. What was he trying to communicate to them?

What does it actually mean to lead someone? Does it have to involve force and power? Can someone lead simply through service? Was Jesus a leader? How about Mother Theresa? How about you?

I don’t have the answers to how the idea of the Servant Leader works, but I do have an intuitive sense that leading someone by serving them, in essence loving them, is effective and makes an impact. The world is full of so many leaders, but are they all good? Is the world full of just as many servants?

How about you? Are you a leader? Are you a servant? Are you both? Are you willing to humble yourself to wash someone’s feet? Are you willing to humble yourself to have your feet washed?

I know that both serving and leading are difficult, but I believe that God calls us to both. I find myself wondering how God will continue to allow such qualities to play out in my life in the day to day. Obviously I have many questions about how I can both lead and serve others at the same time, but I hold the belief that it is possible and serves as a powerful way to impact others. I pray that you will also seek God on how he is using you as both a servant and a leader.

What Will it Take?

God has really been challenging me to live life contently. This is so tough for me. I am engrossed by the consumerism culture we live in. I constantly find myself thinking about cars I’d like to have, homes I’d like to live in, new gadgets I want, prestigious and high paying jobs I’d love to hold. I want the life every American is claimed to want, but when I take a step back from my constant daydreams of that lifestyle I wonder if that life would really make me happy. If I really had all those things, would I be content? If not, what would it take? Will the next car do it? How about earning more money? How about my next vacation? What will it take?

In the last couple of weeks God has allowed me to experience various highs and lows. About a week and a half ago I was stuck at home sick. I’m a stubborn person when it comes to sickness and typically refuse to stay home from work, but due to feeling pretty bad and a high suspicion of contagiousness I made the choice to stay home from work. I was miserable during this journey of staying home. In the midst of burning fever coming and going, and what felt like a throat full of glass, I found myself having a conversation with God about contentment. Even while I felt horrible, was I willing to be content with God and life? I leave my answer at this: I was challenged.

Of course this is not a new concept. This is exactly the same topic the Great King Solomon of Israel addresses in Ecclesiastes. His conclusion is that despite all life’s pleasures and disappointments God is the only fulfilling thing. There. Now we all have learned the lesson, right?

I certainly have not. Even as I sit on a plane returning from an amazing vacation with family, skiing and witnessing breathtaking views of snow blanketed wilderness I find myself daydreaming about new cars, places to live, more pay, and new gadgets…

So is living in contentment hopeless? Despite my constant daydreaming for more material things, I’m convinced it is not. However, we are all in some sort of process of looking to God for our ultimate contentment. Sometimes we’ll experience that more and sometimes we’ll experience it less, but let’s make the choice to grow. Let’s choose to say consumerism no more. To say that when I get the cool new toy I’ve been saving up for I will not allow myself to be trapped in the allure of being at last temporally satisfied with life. For life is about so much more than that next thing.

So take a couple minutes to ask yourself what will it take…what will it take for you to be satisfied? You may be surprised at the conversation with God that develops.

Going Green

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about going green. I don’t know why, but it’s a tough choice for me to consider officially going green. Perhaps it’s the fact that I grew up in a mining town with an anti-environmentalist sentiment. Nonetheless, the thought of going green still plagues me. It’s not that I’m wasteful; I don’t go around leaving faucets running and making thousands of photocopies for every little thing. However, I see making this commitment as something big because it is a commitment. It is committing to a certain way of life, to a certain withstanding mentality.

With all that said, I’m making the choice. I’m going green. Will I still waste energy and resources? Probably. But I desire to consciously reduce my waste and my carbon footprint. When I think about it, I already have. I’ve become more mindful of turning off lights, unplugging unused charges, and using less paper. I want to continue growing in this area.

As I sit here typing I realize that choices are sometimes tough, and we often have to be intentional in following through and not just making an impotent statement. The same could be said in our walks with God.

“I’m going to follow Jesus.” Wow, that’s a big statement! When we say something to that effect, do we really mean it? Have we really thought it through? Are we really willing to commit to it? This, along with going green, is a life long struggle I challenge you to commit to.

Give Your Life Away

In the gospels Jesus tells the disciples that whoever loses their life will gain it. Part of this statement is a foreshadowing of Christ giving his own life up on the cross, but part of it is also a statement of how we are to live in relationship to God.

So what does it really mean to give up one’s life? I struggle with this all the time. Sometimes I feel like I’ve given God a huge part of my life (if not all) and sometimes I feel like I’m clinging to every little thing I can just to maintain what I perceive to be control. In reality, those moments are the times that I’m least dependent on God and also spending the least amount of time with Him.

Back to the question of giving up one’s life - I am not just talking about putting others first, but about something deeper. Of course it’s a good and nice thing to put others first, but this discussion isn’t about being good or nice; it’s about giving yourself to our Lord.

I leave you with this challenge: take a few minutes to reflect on what giving your life away might actually look like and how it might affect your relationship with God and others.

In the Wake of the New Year

The holidays are complete! Is this a relief or a time of sadness? For me, it’s honestly a time of relief this year. I am happy to be in the wake of the New Year. However, this realization is sad to me. When did I come to dread holidays? I’m determined to make the holidays next year a time of joy, celebration, and reflection on Christ taking on flesh to save me from my sins. The fruit of this goal can begin to grow now as I reflect not just on the recent holidays, but also on the last year and the year to come.

2007 held so many events for Liz and I from several cross county trips (one by car) to huge life transitions to celebrating our first year of marriage. I enjoyed great times with family, great times with friends, relaxing on the beach, contemplating the stars, watching snow fall, meeting my new niece for the first time, starting a new job, making new friends, participating in a new church…

God has blessed me with so many great memories from the year, and, perhaps even more importantly, so many lessons in His provision. As I look to the coming year I see many large decisions that I will be making. My shoulders tighten as I consider how things may, or may not, fall together, but then I remember last year and how God provided for me time after time when life appeared impossible.

So here I am in the wake of 2007 still feeling the ripples of the year’s passing. I wonder if I will drop the ball on life’s many choices after watching the ball drop on New Year’s Eve. Then I remember that life is about more than what I’m making it. Life is lived in both the loud, screaming moments and also the soft, quiet ones...the sun as I walk to work, the hug from the kid who always shies away from me, the smile of my bride from across campus. Perhaps these are moments I should be determined to view as significant when I stand in the wake of 2008.