|
Monroe63
|
read my profile
sign my guestbook
Name: Sam
Country: United States
State: Ohio
Metro: Springfield
Gender: Male
Interests: Football, Football (it's funny here), Climbing Giant Hills, Guitar, Worship in the Oddest Places, Snuggling with Northern Irishmen and Drinking Pints While Sharing Intimate Details
Expertise: I have an amazing ability to cause trouble without getting INTO said trouble.
Occupation: Other
Industry: Nonprofit
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
2/10/2006
|
|
| So last night I added another notch in my nerd belt and played Settlers of Catan. According to Wikipedia, it is a game designed in Germany in 1995 and was originally called Die Siedler von Catan, which is German for "Die Adam Sandler, vote for Conan!" The name didn't translate well, so they changed it to Settlers of Catan, which is way dorkier.
The purpose of the game is simple: build enough roads, settlements and cities to earn ten points and win the game. Buildings and roads require certain materials to complete, such as wood, ore, wheat, brick and sheep. What sheep have to do with making a road, I don't know, but they apparently are pretty important in the process. You can trade with other players to get the supplies you need to build. For instance, if Darren needs two wheat, he will offer me three ores. Then, I will say, "That's a horrible deal!" and dead arm him. Handley will laugh and then it is his turn. Then, a cat will knock over my beer and I will swear at him. It's a pretty fun game.
The best part of the game for me is the banter heard among players. For some reason, no one can sound cool playing a game like this. If Brad Pitt were sitting across from George Clooney with a hand full of cards in front of a board covered in wooden pieces, it would still be lame. Even if Frank Sinatra said to Sammy Davis Jr., "I'm going to turn my settlement into a city and trade in two wheat for an ore, you wacky Jew," I would still snicker. (And let's face it... only Frank could talk to Sammy like that.) Discussions of barbarians, shipyards, and knights make every one a little dorkier.
For whatever reason, games have become less and less enjoyable for me. Darren has been pushing me to play this game for a while and I didn't really want to, but I had a good time tonight. I have never learned to play the game "Risk" because I feel I would not have a good time playing it. For some reason, board games no longer have the appeal to me that they once did. So why the resistance to playing games? The real question: is this a sign of things to come?
As one gets older, I think it becomes to difficult to not become "set in one's ways." I feel that humans are the product of their environment and their culture. The longer they are in one place with the same people and the same surroundings, the easier it is to get stuck in a pattern. It only becomes noticeable when something (or someone) comes along and throws the pattern off. Maybe it's something simple like a new food or playing a new game. Maybe it will be something more complicated, like when someone from a different culture comes along. Or maybe it involves hunkering down in political or cultural views. Suddenly, things that used to be "different" are now viewed as "strange" or altogether "wrong."
As a Christian, I think I owe it to myself and to God to go to different places and try different things. Jesus provides us with one gospel, but God provided us with lots of people and lots of different cultures and beliefs. Trying these things may shed light on a better way of doing things. Maybe there is something to be said for shaking the hand of everyone you meet or taking the time to eat a meal with your hosts. In trying things, people can learn from the experience and from the experience, people can learn more about the depth of God and His creation, realizing that He made all of it and inspired so much of it, rather than writing it off as "wrong."
I may have just talked myself into playing Risk.
| | |
| Damien Rice is thoroughly and utterly depressing, and on multiple levels no less. First to the struggling musician, as his music is utterly simple and, yet, making him millions of dollars. The guy makes David Crowder look like Jimmy Page. However, there is something... haunting about what Rice does.
In many ways, he could be considered David Crowder's evil twin. Where Davey C takes something utterly simple and turns it into worship that makes one want to dance, sing, and actually become a better person, Rice takes a simple chord progression and laments about cheating on his girlfriend. A lament that draws upon the sadness of every Irish Catholic that's ever lived and sinned. This kind of sadness and guilt has no equal upon all the Earth.
Second, Rice's songs bring about feelings of sadness in a very relatable way. We have all longed for someone or something we cannot possess. We have all lost someone or something that is important to us and, worse, sometimes it has been our fault. As a result, there is no getting him, her or it back. When one is alone and seeking communion, music such as Damien Rice's can be a very suitable companion.
So what's the big deal about music?
I think God is a big fan of music. Let's take David, a man after God's own heart and a musician. He managed to write a few songs. By "a few," I mean, "a library's worth". We are still puzzling over a lot of the Psalms. Some are simple in their outright admiration and adoration of the Lord. Others are complicated because of how upset David is in his communication with the Lord.
"Dave?"
"Yeah, Sam?"
"Wow, you know who I am... cool. Anyway, uh, I hate to tell you how to write your songs, since I've only written a handful and you've written... you know... a few hundred... but..."
"Yeah?"
"Uh... aren't songs about God supposed to be happy?"
(David thumps Sam over the head with a Bible.)
"Have you even read some of the jacked up, sad things that happen in this book?! You think God wants a whole group of people in denial about their circumstances?!"
Leave it to me to meet royalty from the Bible and screw it up by being obnoxious and oblivious. Point being, God is not an idiot (WOW!) and He understand sadness. He understands because we are made in His image. He's felt it. Loss? Check. Anger? Got it. Disappointment? Let's see, how many times has he looked at my missed opportunities to witness or serve...
So I think that I have established that God is not only a music fan, but he understands sad songs. So what's the big deal with Damien Rice? Harmless self-pity, right?
There is another guy who (I believe) is a big fan of music, too. Unfortunately, he thought all the music should be about him and even convinced a third of the angels that he might be right. I am, of course, talking about Gene Autry's decision to move the Angels from Los Angeles to Anaheim in 1965.
From Isaiah 14:
(11) All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you. (12) How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! (13) You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain."
It might seem a little overkill or frightening to connect music and Satan together. The sad reality is, Satan, former worship leader of Heaven, will use whatever he can to get a foothold into our lives, including listening to our favorite tunes when we're down. The guy knows music and he knows what effect it can have on a listener.
When we look to Damien Rice for comfort, we are leaving the God of Comfort out of our hurt. When we listen to the Killers to understand why girls do the things they do, we are missing the Creator's point for making girls in the first place and what He has to say about them. We are substituting music for the God of Music. And leaving God out means we look to ourselves for answers. I, personally, have found this to be a complete and utter disaster.
Is Damien Rice bad? Are the Killers evil? Of course not. They are freaking amazing. Especially if you can listen to them and realize how they point to the Lord, intentionally or otherwise, for "He has... set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecc. 3:11). These musicians can't help but cry out for something bigger and more amazing than themselves. It's in our DNA.
Damien... keep crying out, buddy. I still hate you for "Amie," though. Man, that song's amazing.
| | |
| For he to-day that sheds his blood
with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so
vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they
were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles
any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's
day.
- Henry V, Act IV, scene 3There is no guarantee that we will be happy, but the joy of the Lord is our strength. We are a bride, blushing because of our Groom. We share in His triumph but in His sorrow, in His sacrifice, as well. We few, we blessed few.
There are days when it sometimes feels impossible to press forward and that the odds are too much to overcome. No matter what we feel, the Lord is good. It's His very nature. He continues to be God even in the face of our struggles. We are allowed to battle on for the sake of the Lord and, to be honest? That's an exciting thing.
And at the very end, we shall hold not "hold our manhoods cheap" and anyone who fights with me "shall be my brother." A brother adopted into a royal family. It's good stuff, guys.
Peace and blessings be with you.
| | |
| It's very simple to say God is good when we're happy. To be able to look at our lives and say, "I'm not owed anything; God gives me all I ever need..." requires very little effort when everything in our lives is running smoothly. But how do we react when we don't get what we want? What happens when, even though our every need is more than met, there is something that we want and we aren't getting it? Is there an attitude of "I am owed nothing" or an attitude of "what about me?"
My life is one of abundant wealth. I have a warm place to sleep each night. I have so many clothes I'm sometimes required to go through them to see what I want to give away. I own a car. I have a job where I make enough to eat at a restaurant every day, if I so choose. I have more than enough and I am owed none of it.
But I still want. I yearn for that time when I can look into another person's eyes and have an understanding. An understanding that says, "Not is spite of who you are, but because of it, I want to be with you..." As many of my friends can attest, I've had little to no success at finding love (romance, a relationship, whatever you want to call it) by my own means. Recently, I've had someone come into my life who I thought would represent God allowing me to have what I have wanted for so long. Because of circumstances beyond our control, we have decided to lay our relationship aside for a while. It seems that the Lord knows better and is requiring a time of patience from us both.
When a crisis or conflict arises, I think it's easier to go through it if there is someone or something to blame. If there is a source of stress or strife, it makes a plan of action apparent. At the very least, there is someone or something to be mad at and you and your friends can sit around and bash the said cause of your misery while drinking a beer. In this case, there is no one to blame. There is no apparent cause of the problem. It's not her fault, it's not my fault, it just... is. That, however, doesn't make the situation any easier. It doesn't make the sadness or the anger diffuse. In some ways, it makes it a lot harder.
I can honestly say that I am angry at the Lord right now. I'm angry because I can't see the point of this time. To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under Heaven (Ecc. 3:1). I know this, but I have trouble believing it right now. I feel like there is something that I'm missing out on and for reasons I can't understand or ascertain, the Lord is holding me back. "Ok, Lord, the lessons have been fun and all, but I'm a little hacked about this and want to know when I'll get my girlfriend, my puppy dog-phase and all that goes along with it! That 'single' status on Facebook is starting to glow freaking red!"
In short: what about me?
I think it's ok to be mad at the Lord. For one thing, He can handle it. He is the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe and He's probably had more people than just me pissed off at Him at one time or another. Basically, He's big enough. For another, He is gracious and will be able to forgive me when I ask. Have you ever been mad at someone for something hurtful and awful they did and they ask for your forgiveness? Were you able to immediately forgive them? That's one of the many differences between the Lord and us: His forgiveness and grace are perfect. He can forgive us our sins, past and future, with no record. Basically, He's loving enough to forgive me.
I don't know what the purpose of this time is, but I can rest reasonably easy knowing that, at some point, I will know. That time may not be soon. I'm not happy to be waiting. I'm not happy to be without what I want. Frankly? It pisses me off. But I earnestly know that I am not owed anything and that the Lord is good not because I say so... but because He is.
| | |
| Last Wednesday was the first day of Lent. If I'm honest, the only thing I could tell you about it up until recently is that it's "that Catholic thing after Mardi Gras." And as comprehensive a definition as that is, I decided to look a little deeper because some of my good friends, who aren't Catholic (!), are all about this Lent deal.
I did a little digging and found that it's a time of fasting or abstaining from something for the forty days leading up to Easter. It's kind of cool to point out that forty is one of God's favorite numbers: forty days of rain for Noah and the gang, forty years in the desert for the Israelites, forty days spent on Mt. Sinai for Moses, and forty days of fasting for Jesus in the desert. It's also the same amount of time Jesus walked the earth after His resurrection. God likes deserts and the number forty. Sweet!
So basically it's a time of fasting and reflection leading up to the celebration that is Christ's resurrection a.k.a. Easter. And it's not just a Catholic thing; the Lutherans, the Methodists and the Presbyterians also participate. The Lutherans apparently eat tons of grub on Mardi Gras, which to me is outstanding. Lots of grub is always a good thing. And after a bunch of grub, fasting might not be a bad idea, either.
I guess Lent confuses me, though. It's not that it's not biblical (Jesus being a forty-day-faster Himself). And abstaining from different things from time to time is not a bad idea (heck, I'm paid to say that). I guess I just feel bad for the people who feel obligated to do it. "Crap... it's Lent. I've gotta give up something." I feel like in some ways Lent can be legalistic, which I also know Jesus wasn't all about. "It is freedom that Christ set us free" (Gal. 5:1).
But I guess Lent is legalistic only if one lets it be. For many believers, it's a time of closeness with God. A friend of mine is giving up DVDs and TV because she wants to be more productive with her time and read her Bible during the time she would normally watch TV. But she's not being rigorously strict, either; she'll watch TV and DVDs with her friends because, honestly, who's going to read their Bible and work on projects while their hanging out with their friends? It's a really balanced approach and (here is my huge, shock of a revelation for all of you) balance is the best way to do a ton of different things.
Sacrifice for the sake of honoring God and allowing for grace. Homage to Someone who deserves more than we give... more than we can give. It seems like we shouldn't bother because we can't possibly give God anything that wasn't already given; but it certainly doesn't mean He doesn't appreciate the gesture. I think God is the only person one can give a gift to and it really is the thought that counts.
So to those of you participating in Lent this year, may you find no new bonds around your neck, but rather the freedom that comes from loving Christ and giving freely, as you were freely given. In the meantime, shoot me a comment and we'll hit Texas Roadhouse after April 8... my treat.
| | |
|
|
