"Love isn't love unless someone pays." ~ Brandon Heath
The temperature was 20 degrees on that February evening in New York City. Arthur was walking hurridly towards a play downtown. He passed a young man on the side of the road who was obviously freezing, and was simply lying on the concrete. Feeling sorry for the man, Arthur pulled out a hundred dollars and gave it to the man and continued on his way. You see, Arthur was a self-made millionaire. A hundred dollars to him was nothing, but still, the man took it and he now had the money to go buy a coat and some food to sustain him. Just as the Arthur was walking away, and the homeless man started to stand, another man started to walk towards him. The homeless man quickly shoved the hundred dollar bill into his pocket so that this man walking towards him could not see it. This man was named James, and he also saw this homeless man. James was headed to the play as well, in fact, he was on his way to pick up some of his best friends before the play. James decided to stop and help this man. He gave his coat to the man, and sat down next to him and started talking to him. James proceeded to spend half an hour talking with this man, and then he went with him to buy him some food. After they had purchased the food, James looked at the clock. The show had begun a little while ago, and his friends had probably not waited. The homeless man sensed the sudden change in James, and asked him if everything is ok. After James explained, the homeless man began to feel very badly about keeping James. James just smiled at him and said, "some things in life are much more important than going to silly shows with your friends. Life is about loving, and the last few hours have been spent loving you."
Much could be said about this simple, and yet profound story. Which man loved the homeless man more? Some would say the man that gave a hundred dollars. However, did that bill really cost Arthur anything? Was he really "loving" the homeless man when he game him the money?
Or, could it be that James was the one that showed true love?
Love isn't love without sacrife. Love that is not selfless is no love at all. Real love costs something, and loving this homeless man truly cost James something. Arthur, well, he did a good deed, it cost him hardly anything, and he continued on his own path. James greatly altered his path to show true love towards this homeless man. "Love isn't love unless someone pays." And so, the only way to really love, is to give...to be selfless.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Quotable
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."
~Aristotle
"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
~Ghandi
~Aristotle
"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
~Ghandi
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Moment of Decision
Edward awoke one Thursday morning to the sound of children screaming outside of his room. They were saying something about a boat, and a new world, and...he couldn't understand all that they were saying! He had to go find out!
After he managed to drag himself out of bed, he discovered that there was a ship in the port getting ready to sail from Portsmouth, England to somewhere that the people called the New World. This information caused Edward many sudden emotions. On one hand, this sounded like an incredible opportunity! He could explore new places, have limitless opportunity set before him, do something that was hard that could be very rewarding! But on the other hand, this was scary. It was hard, it would cause a great deal of change in his life. It would require letting go of all that he had known for the 19 years of his life. He would have to leave his family, it would require alot of risk, and it would set into motion many unknowns. He would have to leave what he had always known for the possibility of something greater or worse. He didn't know. He just didn't know...
There was the problem, it was right in front of him, he didn't know what was beyond the edge of his little universe because he had never dared to step beyond his little bubble. He was content with the way things were, he was content because he knew the good and the bad that went along with it. He knew that he wasn't fully satisfied, but he also knew there was a chance he would be less satisfied if he got on that boat, if he decided to risk. He knew there was the chance that things might somehow get worse for him if he got on the boat. Fear was paralyzing him. Fear was holding him back from his future, from opportunity. Fear was preventing him from doing the hard thing. The right thing.
And you know what he did?
He sat there. He sat there and actually took the time to think through this whole situation.
And he got up. And he looked fear in the face. And He proceeded to walk onto the boat and head to the New World. He did the hard thing. He now faced many unknowns, and he faced many opportunities. He said goodbye to the family that he loved so dearly, and chose to risk everything for real freedom. The way it had always been was no longer good enough for him, he wanted to rise above the oppression and rise on the wings of freedom and opportunity.
He did what few are ever willing to do. He chose to take the difficult path, he chose to not settle for the way things had always been.
As one great poet put it, he "took the road less travelled by, and that made all the difference."
After he managed to drag himself out of bed, he discovered that there was a ship in the port getting ready to sail from Portsmouth, England to somewhere that the people called the New World. This information caused Edward many sudden emotions. On one hand, this sounded like an incredible opportunity! He could explore new places, have limitless opportunity set before him, do something that was hard that could be very rewarding! But on the other hand, this was scary. It was hard, it would cause a great deal of change in his life. It would require letting go of all that he had known for the 19 years of his life. He would have to leave his family, it would require alot of risk, and it would set into motion many unknowns. He would have to leave what he had always known for the possibility of something greater or worse. He didn't know. He just didn't know...
There was the problem, it was right in front of him, he didn't know what was beyond the edge of his little universe because he had never dared to step beyond his little bubble. He was content with the way things were, he was content because he knew the good and the bad that went along with it. He knew that he wasn't fully satisfied, but he also knew there was a chance he would be less satisfied if he got on that boat, if he decided to risk. He knew there was the chance that things might somehow get worse for him if he got on the boat. Fear was paralyzing him. Fear was holding him back from his future, from opportunity. Fear was preventing him from doing the hard thing. The right thing.
And you know what he did?
He sat there. He sat there and actually took the time to think through this whole situation.
And he got up. And he looked fear in the face. And He proceeded to walk onto the boat and head to the New World. He did the hard thing. He now faced many unknowns, and he faced many opportunities. He said goodbye to the family that he loved so dearly, and chose to risk everything for real freedom. The way it had always been was no longer good enough for him, he wanted to rise above the oppression and rise on the wings of freedom and opportunity.
He did what few are ever willing to do. He chose to take the difficult path, he chose to not settle for the way things had always been.
As one great poet put it, he "took the road less travelled by, and that made all the difference."
Monday, July 27, 2009
Joy
Often the smallest things in life become the most important, the things that seem insignificant leave imprints upon our hearts that last forever. We have not learned to live until we have learned to laugh, we have not discovered peace until we have learned to let go, and we are not worthy of this life until we live with the full measure of joy that God intends.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Simplification
Often we settle for less in every area where God truly desires to give us His very best.
Sometimes, in fact most times, it is better to speak simply rather than in complex terms.
It is better to remember one main fact and have this fact transform your life, than to try to remember many things and have none of them change your life.
Never use 3 words, when 2 will suffice.
Step back, consider your ways, think clearly, and never settle for anything less than God's best.
Sometimes, in fact most times, it is better to speak simply rather than in complex terms.
It is better to remember one main fact and have this fact transform your life, than to try to remember many things and have none of them change your life.
Never use 3 words, when 2 will suffice.
Step back, consider your ways, think clearly, and never settle for anything less than God's best.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Ocean Sunset
As the sun began to set over the crystal clear waters off the Carolina coast, 3 people found themselves walking along the surf. A father, his small son, and another man. The father was holding his sons hands and helping him along when his son suddenly began to get really excited. He looked up at his father, and his father smiled back. In this instant the child ran towards the water. However, the child didn't make it very far before he faceplanted into the sand and started crying. His father quickly walked the few short steps over to his son, picked him up, and held him tightly.
The observer could not understand what he had just seen. Why would this loving father let his son fall? Just then, the father sensed what his companion was thinking. The father quietly said, "If I never let my son fall, he would never learn to get back up. He must learn to walk one step before he can walk two. These things are never learned in a day, they take a lifetime. I know that I will never let my son do anything outside of where I can still protect him, but he must learn to walk on his own. And then, before you know it, the one step turns into two, and eventually he will get all the way to the ocean. Only a loving father would let his son do such a thing, you see, what you see as not loving, I see as loving. Only a loving father would teach his son to rise when he falls and to take one more step than the last time.
"Why do we fall, sir? So that we might learn to pick ourselves up." Batman
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
Confucius
Proverbs 24:16 - "For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again."
The observer could not understand what he had just seen. Why would this loving father let his son fall? Just then, the father sensed what his companion was thinking. The father quietly said, "If I never let my son fall, he would never learn to get back up. He must learn to walk one step before he can walk two. These things are never learned in a day, they take a lifetime. I know that I will never let my son do anything outside of where I can still protect him, but he must learn to walk on his own. And then, before you know it, the one step turns into two, and eventually he will get all the way to the ocean. Only a loving father would let his son do such a thing, you see, what you see as not loving, I see as loving. Only a loving father would teach his son to rise when he falls and to take one more step than the last time.
"Why do we fall, sir? So that we might learn to pick ourselves up." Batman
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
Confucius
Proverbs 24:16 - "For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again."
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Artist
What would life be like if there was no color?
What would life be like if there was nothing to make anything distinctive from any other?
What would the world look like without the brilliant colors that we see every single day?
What would music sound like if it was all the same?
What would happen if the artist never created?
These questions seem to have no point, in fact they may even seem childish or trivial. But when was the last time that you considered any of these questions?
The word create has many meanings. Most of the definitions can be boiled down to this - "the act of a creator bringing something into existence that did not exist before."
We see this in many areas. We see this in the artist painting a picture, in the pop star recording a new album, and in the chef magically preparing a mouth-watering feast.
But have you ever seen an artist creating a new car in an assembly line, or a friend creating a conversation that has never happened before, or a teacher creating a lecture?
Have you even considered that a writer is indeed an artist?
The writer sits down to a blank page and can create whatever he desires. The possibilites are endless. Here he is, with a chance to write something that nobody else in history has ever written. This gift can be taken for granted, or never even realized.
When God created the world, He made man in His own image. He looked at the works of His hands, He looked at everything He made and fashioned, and He said, "WOW!" The First Artist, the Master Painter, and the Orchestrator of Eternity is creative in His very nature. He has made each and every single human being in His own image. Whether or not an individual realizes it or not, they have a distinct desire to create within them.
Far too often our lives become dull and mundane, and I dare say that this happens because we fail to create. We fail to do anything with purpose. Remember, the artist is always purposeful, every mark of the writer is intentional, and every event in history that has been orchestrated by God was planned before the foundation of the world. Just as all of that is true, we are to be intentional in the way that we live and we get off base and get on the wrong track when we fail to realize this.
When the writer sits down and begins to make the first marks on the blank page, he can write anything that he wants. However, he will never make his writing make any sense without any direction or purpose. He cannot tell his story unless he makes every word relevent to the one before it, and the one after it. Writing is difficult. Living life the way it was intended to be lived is difficult. And somehow, it seems that they go hand in hand.
How am I writing the story of my life?
The blank page is before me, what will be written?
What would life be like if there was nothing to make anything distinctive from any other?
What would the world look like without the brilliant colors that we see every single day?
What would music sound like if it was all the same?
What would happen if the artist never created?
These questions seem to have no point, in fact they may even seem childish or trivial. But when was the last time that you considered any of these questions?
The word create has many meanings. Most of the definitions can be boiled down to this - "the act of a creator bringing something into existence that did not exist before."
We see this in many areas. We see this in the artist painting a picture, in the pop star recording a new album, and in the chef magically preparing a mouth-watering feast.
But have you ever seen an artist creating a new car in an assembly line, or a friend creating a conversation that has never happened before, or a teacher creating a lecture?
Have you even considered that a writer is indeed an artist?
The writer sits down to a blank page and can create whatever he desires. The possibilites are endless. Here he is, with a chance to write something that nobody else in history has ever written. This gift can be taken for granted, or never even realized.
When God created the world, He made man in His own image. He looked at the works of His hands, He looked at everything He made and fashioned, and He said, "WOW!" The First Artist, the Master Painter, and the Orchestrator of Eternity is creative in His very nature. He has made each and every single human being in His own image. Whether or not an individual realizes it or not, they have a distinct desire to create within them.
Far too often our lives become dull and mundane, and I dare say that this happens because we fail to create. We fail to do anything with purpose. Remember, the artist is always purposeful, every mark of the writer is intentional, and every event in history that has been orchestrated by God was planned before the foundation of the world. Just as all of that is true, we are to be intentional in the way that we live and we get off base and get on the wrong track when we fail to realize this.
When the writer sits down and begins to make the first marks on the blank page, he can write anything that he wants. However, he will never make his writing make any sense without any direction or purpose. He cannot tell his story unless he makes every word relevent to the one before it, and the one after it. Writing is difficult. Living life the way it was intended to be lived is difficult. And somehow, it seems that they go hand in hand.
How am I writing the story of my life?
The blank page is before me, what will be written?
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