The Time is Now

Almost two months' worth of blood, sweat and tears and it all comes down to this. In less than an hour, a switch will be flipped, the lights will go on and a "GRAND OPENING" sign placed on the facade. I pray everything goes according to plan. I know there are a lot of things that are less than ideal, but this is my baby. To see it fail or do poorly would be devastating.

God, just do me a solid here and make this work in the best way possible.

Amen.

SUCCESS

For those of you who subscribed to my blog, the feed should be fixed, but you might have to re-subscribe.

No series post today.

Unfortunately, I have been caught up in some pretty heavy maintenance on the Raw Rock Militia website. This has caused me to delay posting as planned. I will attempt to get the next post completed as soon as possible.

In the meantime, check out this totally rad banner made by Peter Rollo:

Peter, if you ever read this, thank you sososo much! If you're looking to create any sort of legit website or graphics, talk to Peter! You can contact him here!

Note to Self: Who Am I? pt. 2

The following is part one to a multi-part blog entry. Click here for the introduction or here for part 1.

As of late, I have been following my own path. I had decided that I was to let no one make my thoughts for me. This is a very difficult thing to decide. It begins with a story.

I spent my whole childhood doing and believing what I was told. "I was raised in church. Therefore, I am a Christian." This is just one of the things I identified with growing up. And of course, I was the kid who played the Christian game perfectly. Stand when it's time... Cry when it's time... Sing in the choir... Never speak my disapproval. I suppose I thought that to question authority or teaching was to be completely insubordinate. That was wrong of me and created a byproduct: a lack of anything learned first-hand.

So, I knew everything about my faith simply based on what I had been told. I almost never read the Bible, but professed to know it well. This brought me to question my moral and political upbringing. It all seemed so simulated. At the moment when I realized this, I began to step into a bigger, more informed world. The world of liberation.

Keep a close eye on The Paper Bag blog for new entries. A new installment of "Note to Self: Who Am I?" will be available Tuesday, October 27, 2009.

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Jeremy Bentham.

Lost season 4 sticks out to me. It may be because the story comes together for the survivors of Oceanic 815 more than ever. Or possibly the fact that the flashbacks from the previous seasons were abandoned (in large part) for favor of "flashforwards." Or maybe it was the fact that the season only lasted for 14 episodes.

Needless to say, an abbreviated blurb is in order.

Although it was shorter, this season brought a lot of maturity to the story. A lot of questions are answered for us and that's great. I find it especially intriguing for a television show to use flashforwards like this does. We really know nothing about what's going on in the future until close to the end of the season. And it's like a hook every time--you don't understand, but you crave an insider's view and continue watching to hopefully find clues to the puzzle.

Ultimately, I want to know more about what's happening after they leave the island more than the story of their rescue.

Why is the name "Jeremy Bentham" introduced at the conclusion? Who is he? Is he who he appears to be?

Serving.

There's more glory to be seen and savored through suffering

Than ever was through self-serving escape.

Self-sacrifice is easily the most important virtue a Christ-follower can possess. In its true form, self-sacrifice and love coexist. Love was commanded by Christ. Everyone seems to know the verse "...and the greatest of these is love." Right? But here's an interesting story I learned about on Wednesday evening: the story of James and John.

So one day, these two guys walk up to Jesus and they say, "Teacher... We want you to do something for us." Jesus, of course, responds with, "*Sigh* I'll see what I can do. What is it?" Turns out they asked him if they could be his second and third in command in the Kingdom of God. It's like HOLY CRAPOLA! WHO DOES THAT???

Jesus comes back with a response that is both wise and beautiful. He answers:

"You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all."

 Essentially, he's saying, "Look, guys. I appreciate your question. But the truth is that in your heart and in the Kingdom, things work differently than they do in governments and societies on Earth. Before you can hold position under me or truly be called great, you have to humble yourself below all the people you meet. Do all that you can to be selfless and caring toward everyone you meet. Then you will gain favor with me and among men."

I find this really intriguing, simply because almost no one follows this command. Although Christ told us to do it, even the best Christians struggle to serve everyone they meet.

My question to you is: Do you do everything you can to serve others? Is it particularly hard for you? Easy?

lyrics by the classic crime, supplied by metrolyrics

Note to Self: Who Am I? pt. 1

The following is part one to a multi-part blog entry. Click here to read the introduction.

One thing that we all are subjected to is education. We each make our way through to high school and beyond. School is a great and terrible place--it gives us some of the most vivid memories of our lives, but also subjects us to an abundance of peer pressure. I never felt the push that most do to fit into a particular group. The thought of this recently got me to reflecting and asking myself why...

This can be attributed to two things. Either an oblivious nature or an effort to remain a non-conformist.

When I say "oblivious," I mean that perhaps I fit into a group without realizing it. Maybe I was a nerdy kid. Maybe I fit in with the Christian group. Maybe I was one of the outcasts. This is unlikely, however, as I had befriended most of the people in the school. Most of my closest friends, in fact, weren't even friends with each other.

The other option, of course, is that I had some sort of innate ability to avoid following the crowd. I suppose it is possible that I had no desire to do as my peers were doing in fear that my life would become  a mere attempt at fitting in.

The truth is that both of these are valid speculations. I suspect that both are true to a point. I may have been grouped with the Christian kids, but in truth, I never had a need to fit in with that group either. Somehow, I think there is a missing piece to this puzzle... The picture just doesn't look quite complete.

Follow closely. Part two will be available Saturday, October 24th.

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