Not For Sale

I never have been and never will work in the sales industry. I believe God has created to be relational in all aspects of my life, in pleasure and in business. Meaning whether I am with a friend, a fellow co-worker, or boss I am always think about how they are, what they need, and how I can help.

A comment was made to me the other day that I needed to sell announcements for the church that I attend. Now I care deeply about the person who made this comment to me and I am not trying to put them down or to ridicule them for the comment they made to me. I know this persons heart and their intentions. But their comment of selling church announcements to people didn't settle well with me.

I don't think God intended for people to be a consumer in the church. I sometimes have trouble with mega churches, and what I mean by that is a church averaging over 5,000 people. The only reason I have trouble is that it seems, to me at least, that these are the churches overly concerned about your pocket book and what you are spend your money on. Now I know that this is not the case with ALL mega churches. I have seen and been to a few that have not come off as interested in a persons finances but rather their soul and who they are.

I am not saying money is bad, I am not saying its bad to promote events in the church. What I am saying is that if we are focused on selling what God has to say and offer, then I am out. My God is not for Sale.

Valentines Day

One day a year we set out a time where we are supposed to be reminded and show the people closest to us, we care about them, that we love them. We buy extravagant gifts, flowers, candy, and many other things. This is the day were some husbands and boyfriends become the most romantic in their relationships, but any other day they are not as romantic.

I don't like Valentines day. Not because people become mushy mounds of skin, but rather that because one day a year is set out to remind us to love the ones we care about.

What if everyday of the year was like valentines day. That everyday or try every day to show love to the ones we care about in a spontaneous way. A way that no one is expecting.

Hope in the Headlights

She Hoped I would stop
She Hoped I would Save Her
The lights illuminated her silhouette
There she stood frantic and waving
Standing in front of my car
She Hoped I would stop for her
The sound of the door unlocking
Was the sound of safety
She Hoped I would take her
She Hoped I could.
In the end Hope saved her
In the end Hope was her friend
In the end I did very little
She should have thanked Hope
Not me.

Where is Waldo

Thats what I love about poetry
Its more than the words you read
Its whats in between,
You've got to look at the scene.
Trust me for one thing that is for sure
It's not like trying to find Waldo
With his stupid hat and candy cane shirt.
No it's an unexpected slap in that face.
You may not like it but tough,
life's unfair.
Its what I want you to feel,
awkward and weird.
I want you to stand and say,
thats not right.
When I say the wealthy are wise
and the poor are ignorant,
I want you to stand and say,
thats not right.
To often we take an unexpected slap in stride,
Like we just don't care
But I take that and read in between these lines.
And finding maybe we're just to scared.
Maybe we are to numb to reality
And the senses of life don't shock us anymore,
But we're left with the search to find Waldo...

Anarchy

So a friend of mine wanted me to watch a movie called The Anarchist Cookbook. I figured there could be no harm in that, so I did. I got to say it was an interesting movie, based around a group of people living an anarchist life style.

The basic definition for anarchy is, a state of society without government or law. Most people think of anarchist as people who do whatever without a moral once in their body. This may be true in some cases but most anarchist believe in the responsibility of the individual.

But it was interesting because in the movie there was this guy who's original name was Peter but now goes by Puck, who was best friends with a guy that didn't have an education, was raised by parents that didn't care about him or want anything to do with him. In the movie Puck is there for his best friend and promises to watch over him and take care of him. But when Puck ends up under house arrest he is no longer able to watch over his friend. Puck's friend ends up getting to heavy into drugs and ends up over dosing on heroin.

Watching the movie made me realize how much we truly depend on one another for protection, guidance, companionship, and so much more. When Puck wasn't around for his friend, his friend died. I don't know if that was like a subliminal message in the movie, that we truly need one another to survive and live together looking after one another. But that is what I took away from the movie.

But to say the least it was an interesting movie. My favorite part in the whole movie is when Puck and his friend start working at a coffee shot and end up taking 20 shots of espresso and go ballistic on a caffeine high. The End.

Waiting and Wishing

I have never really been the one of listening, rather more of action. This can get me into trouble sometimes. For example when I was young my family and I were in our maroon, seven passenger, 1995 Ford Aerostar sitting at the Lake City Way Dicks Hamburger joint. My mom, sister, brother, and I were sitting in the car while my dad waited in line to place our order. As we were waiting I decided I would push the cigarette lighter in for 5 seconds and then pull it out. So I did and when I look at it, the cigarette lighter wasn't glowing its normal orange redish color.

Before I could do anything my mom said to me, "don't touch it, it's hot". Like a good mom should, she knew I was thinking and what I was going to do, I was going to put my finger one the part you light the cigarette with.

Now you would think my mom would have taken the car cigarette lighter away from me, nope! She just let me do what I wanted to do. So sure enough I figured, it's not hot. So i put my finger on the cigarette lighter and before I could feel the pain, I smelt a burning stink in the car. I wondered what the heck that smell was. Of course it was my finger and soon enough I could feel the pain. Of course I was in shock and like a good mom all she said was, "I told you, you should have listened." But she knew! She knew I was going to do it, but she knew it was better for me to figure it out on my own.

Okay so back to the original statement, I act more than I listen. There times when God is wanting me to do something and I don't even have to pray about it. I know what God wants me to do. For example if God wants me to love on my friends the way God loves me, I am not going to pray about it, because from the get go I knew what was important, sharing the awesomeness that is God!

I have always had trouble with sitting and waiting for things to happen. I am not going to pray to God to tell me the answer when almost always its sitting right there in front of me and God is waiting for me to get off my lazy butt and go do something about it.

Beauty In Plain Sight

So for the past two days it has been bright and sunny. Cold but sunny! Today I had to make a couple of deliveries to down town Seattle and man was it beautiful. Then sun beams were bouncing off the tall buildings lighting up the city. The water simmering like glass. I thought to my self, how often do I look at Seattle with such detail and attention? How much do I truly enjoy its beauty?

From the thought of Seattle and its simple beauty, I began to think how much beauty created by God is simply staring me in the face knocking me on the head like they do in that V8 juice commercial. The more I looked around me the more I began to see the simple beauty in things and places and people that I had never seen before, never in the 20 years that I have lived here. I realized as I was screaming down the I-5 corridor ( I wasn't really screaming in my car as I was driving, I was just going a little faster than I should have) I realized how quickly I blow through things without taking the time to pay attention to the simple beauty of things.

Its as the saying goes, simply stop and smell the roses. Enjoy where your at, take time to appreciate the little things as well as the big things in life. Appreciate the simple things!