What Inspires you?

Uninspired.

Do you ever feel uninspired?

I do. I watched heroes today. Don't get me wrong. It was good... but I felt uninspired. Really, who can fly, bend time, heal themselves, etc.? Uninspiring.

I also read my Bible today. Don't get me wrong. It was good... and I felt uninspired. Really, who can heal incurable disease, make blind men see, raise people from the dead? Uninspiring.

I wish that I could say that it was all inspiring, but I'd be a liar.

To be inspired would mean to be moved to action by it.

To be inspired would mean to be animated and motivated to do the same.

To be inspired would mean that this would change my life in some way.

When Jesus gives the power to do all these things to his disciples, it was meant to be inspiring. We are meant to be his disciples INSPIRED by his example and life.

Are you INSPIRED to do these things? Or... are you an uninspired chicken like me?

What is it that inspires you?

One of the citrus branches

Today I went out out to do some shopping for Christmas hampers. Sheryl, Cam,and I each with our own carts (I love pushing carts btw). The carts were overflowing with items.

My cart mostly contained one thing...well actually 27 of one thing.

My cart contained 27 9lb boxes of Christmas oranges. 

It was actually hard to steer the cart because there were boxes on top of boxes on top of boxes on top of boxes of oranges. I hit a few corners and barely missed ripping Cam's ankles off with the cart. Since we picked up the oranges first, I followed the other two as we gathered the rest of the supplies. I had fun... especially gauging the reactions from the various people that walked by my wheeled mountain of citrus.

I noticed three kinds of people...

people 1: those who were curious and funny. These people said things like "you must really love oranges" or the occasional "HOLY @$%#! OMG! OMG!" I laughed at the jokes and the double takes, and tried without succeeding to out humor people. 

people 2: those who wanted to enjoy what I was enjoying. Not sure if they wanted to duplicate the go-cart style fruit bouquet or they just wanted to eat them, but either way, lots of people asked me where they could find the oranges. I was more than happy to help them find their way to the oranges as I was clearly the fruit salesman for the day.

people 3: these people were the judgmental people. There were less of these people, but there were a few. These people came up to me and said "Are you seriously buying all these oranges all for yourself? No wonder I couldn't find them." then they would walk around the corner and comment "are you serious? thanks for saving some for the rest of us!" I could have helped them too, but I figured they weren't ready for the orange goodness. I also could have shamed them by informing them that I would not be enjoying any of these 243lbs of oranges, but rather they were for the less fortunate...but I just felt sad for them. NO ORANGES FOR YOU!

I thought it was funny that I found such different reactions to my situation. I really enjoyed seeing how people react so differently to what they perceived was going on. It's just like life...

How do you react to life?

...Do you face it with jokes and humor? 

...Do you have the courage to ask others when you have questions or need directions?

...Do you judge people at their outward appearance and assume the worse?

My advice for the day would be: When life gives you oranges, assume the best, not every one is as rotten is you!

...just kidding, but seriously. Enough people are grumpy around this time of the year. I'm not perfect. I do however want everyone to enjoy oranges. I do want everyone to enjoy life. I'm going to go ahead and assume that God also wants us to enjoy both of those things as well.

One of the Cold, Faithful Branches

Today I woke up to - 42 degree Celsius weather. 

Cold. Cold. Cold.

I just recently returned from the city of Vancouver. It was a great time in weather that rarely drops below 0. The city had so many people, with so many things to do, and so many places to eat, and such neat surroundings, and so many choices, and such diversity, and...

...and I found myself wishing I could be from a place like Vancouver. I started thinking about what life would be like if I was born of that city. What would life be like if I lived in that city? What things could I accomplish in that city?

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Vancouver, and was thoroughly excited for those of my friends and family who have the priviledge of never needing to plug in their cars, who have over 1000 dining out options, who have mountains and ocean right at their fingertips, and...

...and I was truly excited for them...

...and yet, I realized that there is a reason why I have this yearning in my heart for Regina. I had a longing in my heart that was truly hard to explain for a place that was flat, and simple, and cold. 

I do not know for how long or for how short, but I felt encouraged by my trip to Vancouver, that I am called for now to the freezing tundra of Saskatchewan. This all may change one day, but until then, I will be faithful in my calling here. Not only will I be faithful, but I will be joyful, and proud to live in a place where a minute or two of skin exposure could lead to loss of limbs, and where the biggest news in town is a new chilis. 

I will live proudly, and faithfully, and joyfully in the place I am... because nothing can change where I am right now. For me to go elsewhere right now would be betraying this desire in my heart. 

I have decided to stop playing the comparison game. I always lose.

Be encouraged no matter where you are. No matter what you are doing. Do not be afraid to be proud and joyful about where God has you. 

One of the Pridefully Humble Branches

I am sitting in the Regina airport... in all of it's splendor and glory. 

I am listening to two Regina residents beak Americans. 

They are telling stories of how naive, uninformed, and arrogant they are. They share how..."they don't even know where Saskatchewan is!"

But really...can you blame them?

I personally agree that sometimes Americans can be uninformed and know nothing about Canadian culture... and for this reason I am also one of the "case in point"s that I am writing about.

Canadians have been known for so long as those who are "everything America isn't". They like war, we like peace. They like bombs, we like flowers. They like prideful, we are humble. The list goes on and on and on...

We think we are humble, yet we gloat over our neighbors this idea that we are better than them.

We have this sense of Humble Pride... or Prideful Humility...

It works with our faith too... We think that because we are from a certain denomination, a certain church, with a certain pastor, in a certain set of beliefs... we think that because of these things we are better. 

Yet Jesus, came as a humble servant, not lording anything over those different, but loving those around us. He was truly Humble...WITHOUT PRIDE!

So as I sit in the Regina airport, I am reminded about how pridefully humble I am, and how I so desperately need and want to be HUMBLE, without this sense of pride.

Who cares if they know who I am

Who cares if they know where I am

All that matters is that they know Jesus.

One of the get outta here swedish jesus branches

I do not want your Jesus...

I do not want this Jesus who wants you to get rich...

I do not want this Jesus who shows up at weddings and parties and tells you how wrong you are for drinking, dancing and having fun...

I do not want this Jesus who only hangs out with the popular people with lots of money, power, big houses and cars...

I do not want this Jesus who requires me to show up at a building once a week for the rest of my life so I get to go sing for the rest of eternity...

I do not want this Jesus who is white, with perfectly white glowing robes, and perfectly long brown hair and tidy looking sandals, and makes racist jokes against others because they are different than him (but they aren't really racist, just jokes)...

I do not want this Jesus who sucks the life out of life itself...

I do not want your Jesus...

...

...

...

...I want a Jesus who believes in justice.

...I want a Jesus who loves people regardless if they are rich, poor, fat, skinny, brown, white, popular, loners, gay, straight, young or old.

...I want a Jesus who took a stand against religious leaders all in the name of love and bringing his father glory.

...I want a Jesus who is rough, and hangs out with those who have no friends, and judges not those different from him.

...I want a Jesus who loves me for who I am, and then calls me to love others and BE a change in the world.

...I want a Jesus who gives life, and celebrates life to the full, in a fun and contagious fashion.

...I want Jesus...

...raw, untamed, rebellious, loving...

...NOT the swedish looking Jesus on your wall with everything all together smiling on you for your lifestyle and popularity, but the Jesus I've read so much about who is different and involved and in relationship with people, who calls us to so much more.

...THIS IS MY JESUS.

One of the amazed branches

Recently a group of my friends and I sat down and discussed the idea of creation. There were various opinions around the circle... and although we did not all agree on everything, I saw that regardless of opinions on whether or not God created it all...

We are amazed at the universe....

We are so small in the grand scheme (whatever that scheme may be)...

It hurts our brains to think about...

There is no proof either way, just piles and piles of evidence...

Science means "the study of truth", and I cannot help but believe that science backs up this notion that there is a creator. This whole thing is a huge debate, and my intentions aren't to spark debate. However, I will speak my peace, because I am overwhelmed by the bigness of it all, the intricateness of it all and the beauty of it all. 

I don't know how God did it...

But I think God made the universe, and I am ok with not understanding everything, because if I could completely understand God, that means he has a brain and thought process like me...and thats not a good thing.

Here is a song I enjoy listening to lately, and although it involves science, I think it just shows how creation screams with evidence for a creator. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGK84Poeynk

Thoughts?

One of the polluted branches

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world"

James 1

Do we believe it?

If this is true, then why do we tend to associate orphans and widows as people who are polluted and end up treating them as pollution ourselves? Orphans aren't just cute little babies wrapped in sackcloth who can't tend to their own needs.

Orphans can be full grown people who have had a fatherless or motherless life and as a result have made bad choices or have lacked guidance. At least in my opinion. Widows in their distress can be men or women who have experienced such loss that they don't know how to deal with their loss and resort to means that we may not agree with. At least in my opinion.

The World in scripture covers a wide variety of things. In our culture, I think it tends to be things like greed, pride, and selfishness along with many other possibilities. Yet, our idea of the pollution of the world tends to be strictly alcohol, drugs, smoking, uncleanliness, and four letter words (#@$%). We want to be religious, so we run from these "pollutants".

What do you think constitutes pollutions that we need to keep ourselves from? And is it the pollutants or those who may be polluted that we avoid?

As a result of this, we are not pure, but tainted. We are not faultless, but at fault. We neglect the orphans and the widows unless of course it means giving money to some poor little aids orphan in Africa. Don't get me wrong, these are good causes too, but in our failed attempts, we create a terrible religion that screams of injustice and pain for orphans and widows.

Lets open our eyes to an old kind of religion that God sees as pure and faultless.

Lets open our eyes to who God views as the orphan and the widow.

Lets show compassion and justice to those who we think least deserve it.

One of the Surrendering Branches

Surrendering...

Do you ever feel like it is soooo hard to surrender? 

I don't mean giving up little bits and pieces of something. Not just handing over a portion of something. By surrender I mean giving up everything.

This week I have been dealing with possibly the hardest situation in my entire life. I have always felt before that I was pretty good at giving God my "full" trust. I felt like I was fully surrendered to God and that no matter what happened, that God would have control...

This week I have been stretched beyond belief. 

I am broken. I am beaten. I am destroyed.

I...have...nothing...left...to...give...

It is in this complete brokenness and desperation that I find myself seeing why God wants our full surrender, and also why it is so important to surrender fully to God. 

I am inadequate and have nothing left to give, and it is because of this that I can now rely on God's strength. It is because of this that I can now rely fully on God's wisdom. It is because of this that I can rely fully on God's love. 

I...have...nothing...left...to...give...

...I surrender...

One of the NOT SO conservative branches

Here is a doozy.

The other day I went out for lunch with two of my co-workers.

I was sitting and enjoying my burger and fries, like any normal person would, and listening to a co-worker tell about a previous job he had. He worked in the government, so alot of the lunch chat was about politics. This co-worker is not a "Christian", and does not regularly attend church. He knows who I am, and what I believe, and seems to have no problem with any of it, but doesn't have a claim to it himself. As the conversation was getting into the whole Conservative vs. Liberal debate (not political party names), as these type of things tend to head towards...

My co-worker made one of the most profound statements that I think alot of us Christians need to hear and think about thoroughly....

Here is pretty much what he said...

"What is up with you Christians being so conservative? I don't know much about this stuff, but the little I do know is that this Jesus was NOT conservative!"

...thoughts?...

One of the hopeful branches

Some people are downers.

I don't know if you know any of these people, but they are the people that can only find the negative in things. It seems like whatever you are talking about, the conversation always tends to turn towards how bad things are and how screwed up the world is. 

They are negative.

I think we all know people like this...

...in fact, I think we all have the tendency to find the negative in every situation. 

I have a few examples of people/human kind/situations that just remind me that the world hasn't "become pure evil", and that God is truly working through his people is amazing ways.

A few weeks ago I went to walk with my mom in the Regina Relay for Life. My mom is a cancer survivor, and I was so excited to walk around the track with her and share in this amazing moment of honoring her strength, courage, and patience in overcoming this disease. My dad on one side of mom, and myself on the other, we held her hands and walked around the track. All the way around the track were people (hundreds) cheering on the cancer survivors with joy in their voices and hope on their faces.

I left the location of the relay feeling a few things.... first I was so proud of my mom. Secondly, I was so excited about these people, who were mostly strangers, who were showing love and support for those who suffered with cancer and being genuinely excited about the hope in battling the disease.

Another example to me of people loving others and showing hope in our world...

...Is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. 

There, I said it. 

Every time I watch this show, almost without fail, I cry. Seriously! I see a family, which is such a beautiful and important human structure, that is suffering yet battling to stay together and pursue hope. I watch these families be shown mercy, kindness, and generosity, and see their happiness and thankfulness. This to me brings hope to our world.

My point, is that it is EASY to find the negative things in our world. It is EASY to talk about the things that piss us off. It is EASY to be another negative hopeless voice in the world.

We need to find those hopeful, redemptive people and situations in our world and cling to them, allowing them to inspire us to show hope, love and generosity to others. 

There is hope in this world. God created us to be the messengers. SO stop being a downer.

One of the Question Branches

Lately I have been thinking about the idea of how we do not understand God.

I do not understand God. 

There are so many questions I have to ask God. There are so many things that I cannot begin to understand about God. I continually feel like I am learning more and more about God each and every day, but within this, I discover that I understand less than I think I do as time passes. 

I hear a lot of people say that they can't believe in God because ...

..."How can a God who is loving do this..."

..."How can God have done this?"

..."Why would God allow evil in the world?"

..."How can a good God send people to hell?"

..."How could God have been here before time?"

To those who turn down God because of the questions they have, or because they don't have everything figured out... let me encourage you to keep wrestling with things and ask the tough questions. Trust me, no one has God fully figured out... if they say they have God figured out, they are telling lies out of their butt. 

The point is that there are a lot of questions out there in Christianity. We all have the issues and questions. Some people try and shut us down from asking the questions. Have you ever noticed that? Some people seem to have "all the answers figured out". 

One thing that I love about God... is that His mind, His thinking, His reasoning is far above mine. If God did things in a way that I could fully figure out and understand...If God had the mind and thought process that I do, the world would be in for a ton of hurt. 

I am alright with not having all the answers. 

I love that God doesn't expect me to have all the answers, but encourages me to ask the tough questions and talk about them with those around me and search honestly for more understanding of Him. 

What are your difficult questions? 

One of the Friend's Branches

I do not have very many followers yet. But when the masses arrive...go check out this blog...

http://ineloquentanthem.blogspot.com/

It's my friend Tyson's blog. He is a fantastic man with a lot of wisdom and a lot of love for people. We don't always agree on things, but he is way smarter than me, so he always challenges me to new things in my life. Read his blog, and engage the conversation that happens afterwards. It is worth it. 

One of the immature, embarrassed Branches

Well, Something happened to me over the last few days that really has been bothering me. It is actually less of something that happened to me, and more something I did in the past to someone else that has finally come to haunt me.

I had said something online about someone that was poking fun at them. It included no names, but anyone who knows me and them, knows who it was about. At the time, I really struggled with this person, and actually felt like I treated them with the grace and mercy that I should be treating them with. I felt like if Jesus himself was here and saw how I treated this person, he would be smiling and give me a trophy of righteousness (or a crown). I thought to myself, "It was hard, but I have accomplished what most wouldn't do because they are all full of themselves". I felt wonderful about myself.

...However, I made that comment...

I thought never in a million years would that person see the comment, nor would I have to answer to it...well its a small (world wide) web after all. 

The person read the comment two days ago...

They commented back...

I proceeded to send them a huge apology message...

I think you need more background on the situation (even though I am being intentionally vague). This person was at times difficult to get along with, and I chose to try and "be like Jesus" to this person by loving them, and being patience. I was feeling really self righteous about my relationship with the person afterwards... probably because I knew I'd never have dealings with them again...

...However, I made that comment...

Now the person responded to my apology in a very graceful way, and I am ever so grateful and humbled by it. Once again I have learned the importance of being careful of what you put on the internet, and secondly how filthy my self righteousness is. If this person by any chance reads this blog, know that I appreciate you, and think you are a great person. Thanks for putting up with my immaturity, and forgiving my error. I am embarrassed. I since believe that I have matured a little and can look at our time together a little less biased. I have started to realize that although I believe some people are difficult personalities, I need to evaluate whether or not they are difficult personalities because I am one as well. I think my stubbornness and pride can sometimes get in the way and bring out the difficult personalities in others. 

Back to the self righteous talk...

My friend and I were talking the other day about the concept of our righteousness being "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). I heard it put recently that we tone down what was meant by the term.

It's not talking about an oil stained shamwow...

It's not talking about a bbq covered napkin...

It's talking about a menstrual fluid covered "rag"...

...thats how disgusting my (our) righteousness is...

Thankfully, there is hope and forgiveness. One day I will be righteous in the sight of God. Until then I need to work on cleaning up my life and not thinking so highly of myself. 

One of the Following Branches

Well, I never really thought of myself as a follower in this world, except for my following of Christ and those I follow on twitter (which I suck at updating). Recently however, quite a few of my friends have started up these things called "blogs". Due to their creativity, opinions, eagerness to share, and sometimes fantastic ideas, I thought that I would do the same and create a blog. So, I guess that makes me a follower. 

Yup, I am letting others lead me into this trend, except for less people will read what I have to say, and probably more people will disagree with what I have to say. 

I tried to come up with a neat name for the blog, and I stuck with "One of the Branches" because thats what I see myself as. One of many branches that are attached to the vine that are tended to by the gardener. So I see myself as part of a greater plant or "organism" if you will that is cared for by some green thumbed gardener.

So Branches tend to have fruit, flowers, buds, or nests on them and maybe the occasional bee ready to sting. Myself as a branch will probably have moments of all of these things as I spit out what I am learning and thinking through as part of the greater vine and as my gardener prunes, feeds, and cares for me. 

Please give your opinions...fight me...argue with me...agree...whatever your heart desires.