A year or so ago Andy tried this experiment- he created a short album, completely for his fans and distributed it strictly through his website and iTunes. So, that’s not that ground breaking, right? well, there were two catches- first, he did it for FREE. you could donate if you wanted to, but not required. Secondly, it wasn’t just for the fans, it was in part, BY the fans. They contributed stories, letters, ideas for the songs. Andy in turn made it into poetry…but it didn’t stop there. On the last track he offered the online community the opportunity to be on the record. Just record yourself singing a simple melody and send it to him. He then spliced it all together into something wonderful. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to that album, but I know for sure that it was probably the most played of my entire collection for the past year.

Well… He did it again. Yesterday Andy released “Letters to the Editor Vol 2″. Just like the first one he invited ideas for the album and invited people to contribute vocals as well as their instruments. He provided some backing/click/sample tracks to keep you on track and the rest was up to you. And again Andy turned it into something beautiful. The icing on the cake, so to speak, was the subject of the last track- a song titled “Let Us Know You”. Andy writes, “This song was written in response to the overwhelming number of letters I received from people battling depression, numbness, and a general bleakness which barely conceals anger. I understand it, because I recognize it in myself.”

Wow.

After reading those words and hearing the song, I can’t help but be reminded of one of my favorite sites, Post Secret. Everyone is carrying around something, dealing with something, struggling with something. And for me, this song pulls all of that together in an experience that is breathtaking.

So, without further due, I urge you to hop over to Andy’s site, download the album, give a few bucks if you want, and just listen…

my friends have sent me letters
I’ve read them all and then
I tried to make sense of the stories
but I was overwhelmed

so much anger, so much pain
we’ve had to go numb to survive

[chorus]
so I am closing my eyes
and I’m praying for thos in my life
let us feel, let us love
let us be alive, let us know you

my friends have shared their secrets
and I have given mine
the anarchy of what we think
no one will ever find

in the daylight, to our surprise
our secrets are shades of the same

[chorus]

in the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with You
You parted the seas
held up the flame in the night to guide us through
You drew in the sand
dropped the stones from violent hands
heard the cry of the crow
and set Your eyes on a faithless friend

You are who You are, and You are and You were and will be

We’re spending all kinds of time debating on why we didn’t play this song or that or why we can’t have the hymns back. It’s just silly. There’s so much more out there for us to explore, why don’t we seek it out?

I just don’t get it.

Over the past several years of my life I’ve been known to be less than optimistic in most situations. In fact, I’ve been passive-aggressive, pessimistic, and hyper-critical of pretty much everything. Now, I’m not going to even suggest that I’m completely cured of all of this, but I will say that over the past 6-8 months I have begun down the path to setting things right.

So, why the change? Well, I can’t completely explain it, but to say it’s been a journey. Jen and I had a great experience with Radio City in the fall which gave me a new passion and love for people. Then we came home and I got into a small group with a few other guys at church. On top of that, I was given a great job and just have been blessed time and time again for no apparent reason. So, today…I’m sitting on the lawn mower, giving the grass a chop, the sun is shining and I’m thinking “wow, life is good. Thank You God!”

I could go on and on about how much God has done for me, but my words would simply fall short of doing it all justice. So, I’ll leave it at that.

Just sat down to listen to some music today and this song caught my attention. I’ve heard it many times before, but for some reason the lyrics really struck me. I guess it deals with a similar topic that I’ve been dealing with for a while- that no matter what the person looks like, no matter what they’ve been through, no matter what they say or do, they are still human. They still have a heart somewhere inside…and it beats just like mine.

Heart Still Beats
by Brave St Saturn
The girl in the alley kneels with exhaustion
She’s guarded by the skinny guy who limps from some infection
Behind a veil of bleached thin hair her eyes tell a story
Like a photo of Berlin, December 1944
She’s looking for a handout, she’s been high for several weeks now
She’s too far gone for whoring and the money just gave out

And her heart still beats inside
And the blood runs in her veins
A remnant of life remains
Her heart still beats inside

The man finally comes to the door, I’ve seen him several times
He always looks pissed off and his sunglasses stay on
I think he got his biceps and tattoos while in prison
And it doesnt seem to bother him when he says “go to hell”

And his heart still beats inside
The blood runs in his veins
A remnant of life remains
His heart still beats inside

The thought it comes to my mind, to somehow intervene
But it could bring me trouble, and what can I do anyway?
It’s hard to be effective when it happens so often
To see a life unraveling, through drawn venetian blinds
I’m sickened by compassion, I’m stifled by my limitations
Anesthetic apathy, come take the pain away

And my heart still beats inside
The blood runs in my veins
A remnant of life remains
And my heart still beats inside

Oh God, we need you here
We’re sinking fast and we dont care
The evidence is all around me, on both sides of my door
Our hearts beat

part two of “that’s amazing” – the local weather.  I’m sure a lot of you have been effected by it but I’m still completely boggled by what has happened over the past week or two.  6 days ago it was 80 degrees.  I was outside in shorts and sandals…the very next day- snow.  I know Ohio is kind of weird, but we’re talking 45+ degrees of variance in 24 hours.  crazy.  I’ll be glad to have the warm days back again.

and the last part of “that’s amazing” – Easter at W3CU.  2-3 months ago when I arrived home from the Radio City gig there was already some buzz going about Easter.  As time progressed my pastor developed a vision of having 800 in service.  One small part of the preparation was to send out a mailer to 3000+ people.  Being the aspiring graphic artist that I am, I took the project and ran with it.  So 2 weeks ago we sent out 3170 mailers.  Additionally there were 1800 handed out personally by our congregation.  I also had a hand in a couple of other projects, but my role was pretty limited in it’s reach.  Most of it fell to the personal contacts that our people made to their friends, family, and co-workers.  To be honest, I didn’t think we would ever reach 800.  I thought 600-700 maybe.  Now, keep in mind that I live in a town with a population of about 1200 or so.  The biggest “city” is Hillsboro, 30 minutes away with a population of like 6000.  Our church normally runs around 375…so jumping to 800 was no small feat.   With all of that in mind- we did it…806 in attendance today.  I mean, that’s just insane, we doubled our attendance!  Not many churches can do that, I don’t care who they are.  Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not all about numbers…but those numbers represents lives.  And today we had a direct impact on the lives of 806 people.  The service was great, one of the best I’ve ever experienced and I can only hope that a fraction of the people felt the same way and will dig in a bit more to our church and more importantly God.

Jen has been gone for the past 9 days and I have to be up in about 5 hours to pick her up at the airport. I think she had a good time with her family in Washington, but I’m REALLY looking forward to her return. Besides the normal stuff like cooking…I really get lonely in this house by myself. I can’t imagine living my whole life unmarried.

Politics are on the horizon. I go through phases I think…I got so burnt out from the last Presidential election, it’s taken me almost 3 years to recover. I don’t really like any of the candidates so far. I’m hoping that Fred Thompson (yes, the actor) might consider running. I was a big Bush backer back in the day…but it seems like he is just, without going into details- wore out. My political views are changing some too…I’m starting see the world as a bigger place than I once did. I’m still a conservative for sure, but I see both sides of the coin a bit clearer than I did a few years ago.

I’ve picked up yet another hobby in the past couple months- RC cars. Ever since I was a kid I always loved anything that had a remote control. I got a little cheap RC buggy for my birthday when I was probably 10-11 and I ran that thing to death. This past Christmas I asked Jen for a “real” one, like the type you buy at a hobby shop. For lack of better gift options, she bought it for me. Unfortunately it isn’t much fun to stand outside in the cold to run the thing so I had to wait for warmer days and I just recently started playing with it regularly. It’s really a lot of fun. I told my dad it reminds me of the feeling I get when I ride my dirtbike only there’s no threat of getting hurt.

One last thing. If you haven’t heard the new Jars of Clay album, Good Monsters, stop what you’re doing and go to iTunes, Amazon, or to your local shop and pick it up. It’s just one of the best albums I’ve heard in a while. Well, I’ve been addicted to Andrew Osenga‘s album The Morning for a while, but it’s a little more of a specialized taste, whereas I think just about anyone will like Good Monsters.

Anyway, that’s it for this edition. I’ve got to get some sleep so I can get up in a few hours. Leave some comments people!

It’s always a lot easier when the person who has passed on was a Christian…and even easier when that person has lived a long and fruitful life. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for those closest to him, but easier than it would have been had either of the above been untrue. It was a nice service…and I was reminded of my past encounters with the gentlemen as a child. He always had a pocket full of candy and if you approached him following any church service he was always happy to give it. I think he found pure joy in making children smile. He was a good man.

This isn’t the first time I’ve become self aware of my distractions and I’m sure it won’t be the last.  However for the moment I’m going to try to break free of my laziness and do something of worth for the next few days- read.  I have a stack of books on my bookshelf, some I’ve read, some I haven’t…and a few I have no intention of.  In any case, I’m setting new goals for myself so that I might actually read some of those books.  On the list:  Mere Christianity, Now Discover Your Strengths, How to Give Away Your Faith, and finish Searching For God Knows What
This isn’t of course all about books, it goes farther than that.  It’s about me doing what I say I’m going to do and putting action to my words.  With that said, I think reading is a good start.

Let the poor man say I am rich again
Let the lost man said I am found again
Whoa, let the river flow
Let the blind man say I can see again
Let the dead man say I am born again
Whoa, let the river flow
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let the river flow.

Let the river flow
Let the river flow
Holy spirit come
Moving power
Let the river flow.

Let the poor man say I am rich again
Let the lost man said I am found again
Whoa, let the river flow
Let the blind man say I can see again
Let the dead man say I am born again
Whoa, let the river flow
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let the river flow.

Let the river flow
Let the river flow
Holy spirit come
Moving power
Let the river flow

Kind of repetitious don’t you think?  I mean…seriously where is the art in that?  where is the meaning?  And here is an old hymn for comparison.

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Now that is art.  Pure poetry circa 1882

With all of this said, I can’t help but think of how God must have immeasurable patience and grace in order to put up with us. Every time we say “I’m going to pray more” or “I’m going to start reading my bible God, I promise” and we don’t follow through…how does God tolerate us?
Seems I’m not too different from the people I’m frustrated with. so, since I know they won’t change, WE won’t change, my only hope is that God can give me the forgiveness, patience, love, and grace that I need to not be angry with them.

So God, please grant me the patience today.

It has been a very introspective couple of days. I keep thinking about the things that Donald Miller said in his book and wondering if I can really make the changes in my life that I desire. Several times he wrote about trials in his life and coming to the resolution that he needed change. He prayed about whatever it was and sure enough, God moved in him and things got better. I’m not looking for an overnight solution, but I hope I can make strides toward what God wants for me as well.

Everybody hurts as the song says that’s playing in iTunes… Some of us don’t know what to do with those feeling of anger, regret, or loneliness and soon those feeling grow into something else and in turn people become something separate from the person that they once were. Donald Miller talked about growing up in the church and always hearing about the dark and evil world…that it was a horrible place and the people out there were just waiting to devour him, but once he found himself in the “lion’s den” so to speak, he realized that his “enemies” were just people like any other. Today, I find myself in a similar place…I grew up in a small town, on the far right republican, religious side of life, but living in close quarters with New Yorker’s who have a completely different belief spectrum than mine doesn’t scare me…rather my heart moves for them. Don’t misunderstand- I don’t feel pity because they live a different lifestyle than I do…but I can’t help but wonder what has brought them to where they are. Was there a time when they believed? What brought them to where they were? I know that some have been wronged by the Church and for that I feel embarrassed. The church historically has been far too intolerant of those that don’t believe the same as we do. I feel that we’ve made so many mistakes over the course of history that we likely will never be able to rectify the things that have been done. Yet in the end, the Lord will tarry…and all of this, ALL of it is His will, although I struggle to understand that.

With all of this said, my personal struggle is fairly simple- how do I connect with people? how do I show them unconditional love? My personality tends toward the quiet, reserved, and shy…so I’m struggling with how to break out of that in order to get to know those around me. Again, refering back to “Blue Like Jazz”, Don mentioned something that he did while planting a church that really impacted me- he went out of his way to love others, not so he could invite them to church, just for the sake of doing it. In turn God blessed him and the church did grow…but even if it didn’t, would his impact have been lessoned? I don’t think so. And that’s what I want…not to make friends in order to invite them to church, although that would be nice…more importantly, I just want to show them God’s love through my life and hopefully that will be enough. I am ready for those changes to happen, so that it may be so.

One final thought as I close this statement was in Blue Like Jazz and again in the church service this morning, it went something like this-

“Most Christians are told that they are to live for Christ in the world, when instead we should live in Christ for the world”

I hope and pray that tomorrow when I wake, I will take a small step toward dying to myself and living for others.

It was a good…no, a great book- a life changing book, a revolution waiting to happen in the hearts of Christians.

I’m still processing all that I read today and I probably will go back over it and write some notes…and eventually blog about it in detail, but for now I just wanted to say what a great book it was…so if you haven’t already, go pick it up.

The one thing I will comment briefly for now, is one phrase Donald Miller said about loving others- “love isn’t a commodity” as he put it. It doesn’t have to be earned, it is a free gift to everyone and we should learn to share it with everyone, not just the people that we agree with politically, socially, or spiritually. I really hope that I can learn better how to love others absolutely unconditionally.

I know that song is supposed to connect us with the fact that we are all human and we are all the same, but I can’t help but contradict it and say that it’s a very big world out there.

Growing up in a small town has taught me many things…and one of those is that your world is as big as you make it. I know some people from home who’ve barely left the state, who have only a handful of friends & family, and their world is very, very small. On the other hand I know people who have left for college, a career, or just to discover what else is out there…and for them, the world is a very big place.

What I’m getting at is that we all need to see the world through a larger perspective. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and as I’m stuffing myself to the breaking point, there will be people on the other side of the globe who won’t even have enough clean water to sustain them for the day. How can that not bother me. How can that not bother you?

…I am selfish, I am spoiled…I am your average American and it grieves me that my heart is as hard as it is.

With all of this said…

As the holiday season approaches, we’ll all be in the spirit of giving…some will spend hundreds or thousands over the next month on stuff for their friends and family all of it in which they don’t need or don’t even want. So, I want to encourage you, that while your in the spirit of giving, you consider giving to people outside your “small world”. Sure “Toys for Tots” and other charities are nice, but I hope that you’ll think about the bigger picture. Here are a few organizations that I would recommend giving to:

World Vision
Compassion International
Invisible Children

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

life:
We open the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” tomorrow night in Chicago. It’s been a great couple of weeks and I’m looking forward to those a head of me. So far my experience with the cast and crew has been a very good one, minus a couple here and there. We definitely miss a few things about Nashville, namely our dresser and another cast member (unnamed to protect myself), but where they are missed, others fill the gaps. That’s kind of the thing about show-biz…you can’t get too attached. I’m also beginning to think more and more about the “big picture” when it comes to my life and am hoping that I can have a career that will support my family apart from jobs like this.

political:
the mid-term election finally drew to a close last night. I have to admit, I’ve fallen away from politics over the past 2 years. I think I just got burnt out during the last presidential election…maybe I’ll get back into it eventually. Anyway, I think it’s clear that the democrats won this round, but all it really proves to me is that people grow tired of politics and politicians. The democrats will come in, change a few things and a few years later the tide will turn again because the public will be tired of them and want something else. We’ll never be satisfied. With that said…whether you’re a democrat or republican, I think we can all agree that we’re happy to see the election over. NO MORE ADS! WOOOHOOO!!!

faith:
I’m happy to report that God is still at work in my life. I’m continuing to grow, even though I often stray from where I should be. I’m thankful for His grace. Jen and I went to Willow Creek for the first time last weekend and were blown away by the place. Not only is it huge, but the production side of things is just amazing. With that said, I was happy that the message wasn’t lost in all of the tech, music, and drama. The place made me want to go back…and bring friends…and that’s what it should be like. I’m learning more and more everyday what it means to be a Christian and I can only hope that my knowledge won’t go into the recesses of my brain, but rather find action in my life everyday.

Of course posting our secrets on a webpage isn’t going to save us from anything…but their (as well as my own) hope and prayer is that sins will not only be confessed to others anonymously, but that the sin will be confessed to God.

It’s an interesting idea.

The thing that really struck me, was that after reading just a handful of them I started to get a picture of just how much sin hurts us…how much the devil tempts us all. So many people have thrown their lives away because of some addiction, so many marriages are falling apart because of distrust, so many are struggling because they just don’t feel loved anymore. There’s just so much hurt in this world… and seeing this site, makes me realize that not only are those people out there hurting, but also that they need someone to share that pain with or otherwise they wouldn’t be saying anything at all.

So…I guess my prayer is that those people who are hurting would find a place where they are loved…where they can share their struggles and pain…where they will be forgiven.

So let it be.

With only 5 hours between me and my alarm clock, I’m up, wide awake. I laid in bed for a while trying to force it, but I eventually realized that it just wasn’t going to happen. So, I got up…and for a few brief moments I wrestled with why it was that I couldn’t sleep…was it the Taco Bell I had for lunch, the Pad Thai I had for dinner? (were the two dueling in my stomach?) Well, while that may be part of it, I soon began to wonder if it wasn’t God trying to get my attention.

I’ve been giving about every waking hour of the past week to ministry. If it wasn’t on the webpage(s), it was for the children’s ministry, the youth ministry, the sound equipment, etc, etc…while all of those things are good to think about, they have a tendancy of fighting for my attention over God himself which is the true reasoning behind it all. I get so caught up in the technical issues and forget about why I’m doing it. So…tonight, God has given me the chance to catch up.

I’ve been reading through Acts lately, just trying to get a better grasp of what the church is supposed to look like, but I’m still not too sure about anything. My questions are not complicated, but they remain hard to answer. I just want to know what the modern church in America should look like. Are we really where God wants us to be or have we drifted so far away that we can’t hear His voice over our own? Are we who he wants us to be? Am I who He wants me to be?

Reading about some of the early believers sometimes sends chills down my spine. No matter where they were, if God spoke they listened (and if they didn’t they were struck down!). God had a plan for even those (Paul) who persecuted believers. So, when I read those things, I wonder if God still speaks to people like that today? With all the distractions of “American life” that hit us everyday can we even hear God over the noise? Are we listening?

I hope that I am…and if/when I’m not, I pray that God gives me the chance to learn how…no matter what the hour may be.

All I want is for the barriers to be broken down and for God’s people to come together. nothing more…no amazing worship band, no preacher, no boundaries. Just us and Him.

Fitting just perfectly with this post, this is part of the passage I read tonight in my devotions, found in Acts 2:43-47:

“A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity–all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.”

I digress… there are really a couple things that always hit me after reading those types of posts. First, it’s a big reminder (read- smack in the face) that there is a big, lost world outside the limits of Winchester. Where I live just about everyone believes in God…sure they may not attend church regularly, or their church may be a little different than mine, but generally everyone believes. It’s weird to think that our whole country used to be that way (what happened?). So, when I begin to realize it, my heart begins to hurt because I feel like there’s more I could/should be doing for the Kingdom, but I don’t know what those things are and I don’t know how to accomplish it. None-the-less, it is good to be reminded of such things.

The second thing that enters my mind is usually a question. and while there are many versions of it, it is essentially the same question: “Why do I believe what I believe?” This only brings on more questions about traditions and faith which can quickly consume me. I do believe that having these questions is a healthy thing, but I also know that it can turn deadly if I dwell on them too long. In any case, the one question that I’m asking myself currently is “Why am I right, while so many others are wrong?”. By that I mean, there are dozens of religions…muslim, Christian, hindu, etc. Even within the Christian faith there is Catholic or Protestant, then after that, denominational differences, and deeper and deeper until it finally rests at me. So, why is my church’s belief right, while the Baptist are wrong? What about the Catholics? I mean, the Catholic church was THE first church…maybe they’re right? I know that a lot of the things that differentiate us are minor, but I just wonder, who is right? (and where am I wrong?).

anyway, i know these are deep questions…they are probably questions that aren’t bad to be asking myself…but I have a feeling that I’m not going to find the answer…at least not on this planet.

After boarding and getting settled into our seats the train began it’s normal stops on the way into the city. 4-5 stops into the ride a small, middle aged, Asian man boarded in the center of the car and stood directly in the middle facing toward the opposite side of the car. I at first thought it odd for him to be standing in such a position, but just passed it off as nothing but his preference in having the ability to promptly hop off at the next stop. The doors closed and just as the train began to move the Asian man said in a loud voice “ladies and gentlemen your attention please”. He then looked down to the book he was holding and began singing. I just half way grinned and looked down as to ignore him like everyone else on the train (I’ll admit it was kind of hard to do). It didn’t take me long to recognize the song he was sing, or the tune rather. I looked up and from my seat I could see that he was holding a hymnal. He was singing “Marching to Zion”, but it was in his native tongue so I’m sure that few if any could actually understand him, but it was at that point that I began to understand what was going on. He wasn’t there to beg for money and he wasn’t just some crazy guy…he was doing what God wanted him to do…he was in his very own way trying to witness to people on the train. There was a level of awkwardness that ran down my spine as I was beginning to wonder what the others on the train were thinking of all of this…well…I didn’t have to wonder too long because people began to vocalize their thoughts. The details on this part are a little fuzzy on what was said exactly, but there was a middle aged white man dressed in a suit that lashed out saying something to the effect of “stop singing! no one on this train wants to hear you sing! this is a public train! you can’t do this!” The Asian man didn’t even pause or make eye contact, he just kept singing. The confronter got off at the next stop and in the process managed to anger another middle aged man, whom by his body language didn’t seem to agree that the confrontation was necessary. Actually the two men outside of the train were nearly in a fist fight before we pulled away and I wasn’t able to see anymore…all the while, the Asian man kept singing. Shortly after that a second confronter arose repeating basically the same thing “would you please stop singing…this is a public place! I am going to report you!” By this point the confronter had raised his finger into the Asian man’s face and I guess that was over the line because the Asian man slapped the confronter’s hand down…but still didn’t make eye contact, nor did he stop singing. Shortly after, he finished his song, closed the hymnal, and in broken English said “God Bless you all” then walked away.

It was simply one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever witnessed as a Christian. It was a simple thing, but he did it because God wanted him to and even through his persecution he kept on singing…what an awesome step of obediance.

I could say more, but I think I’ll leave it at that…feel free to post your thoughts.

“Great is Thy Faithfulness”

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Ok, ok…that’s the last serious one for a while, I promise.

In Ecclesiates 1:18 are these words: “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” For some reason society and Christians themselves think that being a Christian is about feeling good all the time. It is thought that somehow once you accept Christ your life is just perfect from then on. Let me be the first to tell you, that is completely false. Even more, I think that the moment we accept Christ, we inherit a future that will in fact be painful. Yes, we do recieve freedom from sin and I can’t imagine life any other way…but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy or feel good. Life is tough for everyone, Christians and non-Christians alike. We all deal with stuff…some of it is serious, some of it is just stuff that we make up in our own heads. Christians (un)fortunately (in addition to the normal life stuff) have the responsibility of sharing God’s gift with others and when we feel like we’re failing that task, even more pain follows…

life isn’t easy…but it wasn’t designed to be.

That line used in Batman is pretty good, but what it should say is “Why do we fall? So we might learn better to rely on God to pick us up again”

Not every song has to go through the praise-blender*. There is such a thing as music that just happens to be performed by Christians that doesn’t come out and talk directly about God. It’s called being abstract…it’s called art.

*praise-blender: a term defined by a friend of my college roomate’s describing all those Christian songs that take the same words you hear in every praise & worship song, mix them up, and spit out as a new song.

It’s amazing to me how God continues to bless me with so much. I know the world looks at little people like us and thinks that we’re unfortunate or “disabled” but I say that they are dead wrong. My life could not be more fortunate! While I may not be able to do everything as well as your average sized person and there are a few things that I can’t do at all (like get things off of high shelves), there are many, many more things that I can do.

It reminds me of what I used to hear in school-that people who are blind or deaf have heightened senses to compensate for those that are lacking. I don’t know if that’s scientifically true or not, but I can say that from my experience that God has blessed me with gifts and talents which would seem to compensate for my lacking height. My pastor twice recently asked me, “can we clone you?”, after completing some volunteer work for the church. I know what he said was a joke, but I felt like there was some sincerity behind it. For a long time now I have been trying to do what I can for God by using the talents and gifts that He has entrusted to me and as I have given, God has in turn blessed me with even more. I think my pastor’s comment was just a light-hearted way to say to me “you’re valuable”. I’m not trying to be cocky, it’s just that I want people to realize that I have so much talent and so many gifts that no one should look down on me because of my height. Be happy that I am who I am!

God has blessed me…and no amount of inches can take that away.

I really don’t know the answer to this…but I’m searching.