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.