Today's post will not be about the Cost of Discipleship... But rather a documentary called Nefarious 1: Merchant of Souls. Start by watching this video...
It's like your ordering a pizza.
Is there not something seriously wrong with this?
I believe that a perfect world is impossible, the evil present in our world is simply too vast to ever be completely suppressed. However, as followers of Christ we are obliged to shine His light wherever we go. To advocate for the justice of the widow, orphan and those who are generally oppressed. If we are truly followers of Christ allowing something such as sex trafficking to go unnoticed would be a shame and direct disobedience of Christ's teachings.
I'm going to do some digging and in a future post I'll give you an established organization which concerns itself with sex trafficking that you can get in contact with, if you so desire.
A requirement of my internship with Soul Sanctuary is to read and study a certain number of books. While I have hundreds of books to read for my regular university classes during the school year, I figured I would put off reading these books until April and then read them all while my school reading load is much lighter. However, I have started reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship each night before bed and I have been loving it.
Each night between 10.30-11.30pm I grab a cup o' tea and relax in my bed, reading Bonhoeffer and then my Bible. It is a beautiful routine and it is also the part of my day that I look forward to the most.
Whilst reading Bonhoeffer I discovered that the knowledge he shares is too brilliant to keep to myself. Therefore, each night before I start my reading routine I plan on sharing a snip bit of knowledge that I have learnt the night before. This will start as of tomorrow night, so be sure to keep checking back! If all goes well, I'll continue to do this with the other books that I will be reading.
Hello, my name is Jordan and I have a serious problem with Christmas.
On one hand I love Christmas, yet on the other, I despise it.
Near the start of this festive season I was talking with a co-worker who is a self proclaimed scrooge. On Christmas day he would rather play Mario Kart by himself than attend a family gathering. The religiosity, family gatherings and consumeristic nature of Christmas has led my friend to dispise the time that is branded as the happiest time of the year.
Now, I have always loved "the Christmas spirit." To me the Christmas spirit consists of eggnog, outdoor hockey and quality time with family and friends. However, as I have aged I have noticed that the real Christmas spirit is in fact nothing more that a hoax.
Christmas is simply about buying the gift that will in turn get you a pile of smiles, however, don't get the wrong gift, or your going to be hated for the rest of the year...
People, we are missing out on what Christmas is all about.
(If you have read this far, don't stop, please)
Christmas is not, I repeat, IS NOT, about buying gifts and therefore accumulating gifts in return.
Christmas is the time of year where we, as prosperous North American's, have the opportunity to give to those who are not as fortunate as we are. To pack and deliver hampers full essentials to someone living in Manitoba housing, to purchase 20 pizza's for a orphanage of kids in Indonesia and to give to a charity who is helping to improve lives in our city.
While I am not against gifting our loved ones or showing affection though gifts, I must proclaim that we as a culture have dreadfully and regrettably missed the mark concerning Christmas. As an irreligious follower of Jesus Christ I find no need to 'preach' to you and bombard you with scriptures concerning giving, simply because I believe that giving is something, whether religious, non-religious or irreligious, that is completely imperative in our world.
There will always be those who are less fortunate than ourselves, this fact is true. This fact also provides a glorious opportunity to show LOVE to those who happen to find themselves in a less than fortunate circumstance.
This Christmas - I CHALLENGE YOU - to spend your money and/or time on someone who is not as 'blessed' as you are. Find someone who is perhaps from a lower socio-economic class and be a blessing in their life. Find someone who is barely scraping by and help them back to their feet. YOU as a North American consumer have tremendous buying power, now get your priorities straight and use that buying power to help someone else. I am sick and tired of the "it's-all-about-me" attitude. Lets take it, stomp on it, cut it up, spit on it and throw it out. It is time for a serious overhaul of our priorities during the Christmas season...
I came across Rob Bell a few years ago through his Nooma series of DVD's. I can remember being instantly captured by the way Bell spoke and articulated his words. He has this stagger in his sentences, it's a beautifully artistic way of speaking. I guess that through my love of words I was drawn into his.
This initial attraction to style and presentation made me want to wade deeper into his teaching materials, his ideas and philosophies. After watching a host of Nooma DVD's I turned my attention towards his book Jesus Wants to Save Christians which turned out to be theology that was easily understood as it was presented in the aforementioned Rob Bell style. I found
Jesus Wants to Save Christians particularly intriguing especially in regards to the political statements made concerning America as an empire, bound to fall. But hey, we are not about to go there as that is another can of worms itself.
Other notable resources of Bell's that I have entertained are Sex God, a book that when read side by side with Ralph Erwin McManus' Soul Cravings radically changed my view of love, and his DVD Everything is Spiritual, a resource I would recommend to anyone wondering how Christianity and science can find co-existance.
It was not until sometime after these materials were read that I heard about Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. I understood that there was a fair bit of controversy surrounding the book but chose to hold off reading reviews before I could get my hands on it and make up my own mind about his teachings.
First off, Love Wins provokes the need for open dialogue and sincere conversation. If you have questions about this book I and many other would be more than willing to walk through them with you. In the same regard, if you are going to converse about the teachings in Love Wins please do so with honesty, modesty and ultimately tact.
So here it is... I do not have a problem with Rob Bell's book Love Wins.
Before you get all jacked up I need to let you know that I am not going to enter the universalist debate nor am I going to entertain the conversation on what hell really is. In fact, I am going to steer away from the ‘hot topics’ that are written about in this book and rather address the book as a general whole.
I believe that Love Wins is a book filled with ideas and topics conjured up to spark conversation. Rob Bell proposes (or rather 're'proposes) a twenty-first century way of looking at age old Christian teachings. Do I agree with everything that Bell offers up? By no means. I believe that some scripture has been taken out of context and believe that doing so is a dangerous thing. But ultimately, in reading Love Wins I was given a hope.
By no means does Rob Bell answer all the questions that I have ever had about Christianity, Jesus or God. In fact, he offers my mind a whole host of new questions that I have never had to think about before. Now, for someone who does not understand the Christian faith in its fundamental values this can possibly be a dangerous thing. But in my personal experience with this book, Rob Bell asked the questions and I drew more personal conclusions in regards to my own belief than I could have done without his prodding.
The hope that I was given through reading this book was simply: Love Wins.
The idea that love conquers everything. I wholeheartedly believe that God is love. The scriptures tell me that and it is evident throughout history. Now, we must be careful not to paint God as a teddy bear or cosmic heart because he is more than that. I am convinced that God is love, through and through His being, but I am also convinced that God is a God of justice and jealousy wishing for none to suffer but giving everyone the option to follow Him or to blaze their own trial. Milton once said in his book Paradise Lost that God had created humans sufficient to stand yet free to fall. I fully believe that statement, and since creation did fall God is more than willing to redeem the fallen if we choose to seek Him.
The main thing for me is that I need to hope and trust in Love. Love is a force of attraction and I believe that God is also that same force. A beautiful force that I pray everyone can experience in the ways I have.
Now, if you came to this page looking for a hot topic debate on some of the “issues” found in Love Wins I am glad that I disappointed you. I have seen enough back and forth debates on the internet between stubborn parties from all sides. Allow me to reiterate my previous statement: Love Wins provokes the need for open dialogue and sincere conversation. If you have questions about this book I and many other would be more than willing to walk through them with you. In the same regard, if you are going to converse about the teachings in Love Wins please do so with honesty, modesty and ultimately tact.
But regardless of what you believe about Love Wins I hope that you can see past the debatable aspects of the book and focus on the central theme. The fact that God is love. That God loves people, and that we are to love and serve God with our lives, whatever shape that may take.
This title line is taken from Bon Iver's Holocene, the song featured in my most recent post.
I have been listening to this album a lot (A LOT - 2 words not 1!) lately, I simply love it. My iTunes play count has well surpassed a sum of 150 plays within a week of owning the album.
The line "... and at once I knew, I was not magnificent" has got me thinking. You know those conversations when it's you and your friend looking at the night sky and then you realize that your problems, your duties and even your life ultimately mean nothing?
Think about it, there are billions of people who currently live on earth and there have been hundreds of billions to walk the earth before you have, so why would you be anymore special than the countless others? I know I have had a few of these experiences, just attempting to comprehend human history, the inevitable future and how a single life like me can somehow fit in there. I guess these questions walk the same line as trying to figure out a meaning to our lives in the grand scheme of things... It's pointless - isn't it?
While I have often taken the viewpoint explained about seen life as nearly pointless - through faith I see everything in a completely different regard.
I see a beauty in the intricate design of each individual that walked this earth. Understanding that each person had their own personality, physical characteristics and unique composition.
I see a vastness that is overwhelming. God created a universe and people with souls to fill it. I must let go of what I think I know, and hang on for the ride of this big ol' plan of His.
I see an opportunity to make a difference. I can take the life that I was given and rather than dwell on how insignificant I may be, I can use my experience and my circumstances to aid those who have found themselves trapped in the same circumstances. I can use my life to better the lives of those around me.
Rather than reflecting on how small and insignificant my life may seem to be, I love to look at the aspects of faith and God, attempting to make those fit in with my idea of the world.
It ultimately boils down to this: Love. My religion is not some form of Christianity but rather love. I believe in love, the ability for every person no matter who they are or where they come from to be drawn to this force, this LOVE.
This is a question that I have asked myself over and over again. I have recently been reading the book Love Wins by Rob Bell, while some of you may want to hear a review on the book, we will get around to that some other time as some of the material is quite "controversial" and takes a decent amount of time to sift through and explain.
Anyways, how does Love Wins and Jesus tie into each other?
At the end of the second chapter in Love Wins Rob Bell describes Jesus' actions;
"Jesus invites us,
in this life,
in this broken, beautiful world,
to experience the life of heaven now.
He insisted over and over that God's peace, joy and love
are currently available to us, exactly as we are."
I have been dwelling on the idea of Jesus for so long and I can't say I fully understand who he is. But on the other hand I can say that I do think that in order to believe in Jesus one must believe in the whole of Jesus and not just parts of Him.
Example, many of my friends believe Jesus was just a great teacher from way back in the day. Just some dude who knew how to woo the crowd with friendly messages, although when you take a look at what Jesus really says, there is no way that you could conclude that Jesus was a great teacher but not the Son of God. Jesus made it clear to his followers that he was the Son of God, to discard this idea but to accept Him as some influential teacher would be to accept half the person who Jesus was.
Anyways, just seeing who Jesus really is, although I don't and never will have Him fully figured out, is amazing. I can sincerely say that I love Jesus.
I encourage you to flip through the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and explore who Jesus was, some of the things that he said and how they impacted the people around Him and how they resonate with us today.
So if your reading this, odds are you have seen my Facebook page pop up in your newsfeed over the past few days. If you have seen my wall your probably thinking "What type of site did that weirdo click on?" Well let me explain.
Around two weeks ago my Dad departed Winnipeg en route to Indonesia. My local church, Soul Sanctuary, sponsors an orphanage out in Indonesia called Wisma Kasih, a place for orphaned children or for children who have seen violence and lost a parent due to violence and poverty. He went on a fact finding mission to see how the orphanage needed help, what could Soul Sanctuary do to benefit Wisma Kasih.
After his stay with the children which lasted a week and a half he few back home with a vision of how to help these kids. In fact, he didn't just come back with a vision, he came back with the kids. No, not in his suitcase but rather he brought them back via social networking.
As I understand it, when the children go to school they are able to use Facebook and other forms of communication. Therefore, I am now friends with 20 odd Indonesian girls who all call my Dad "Father".
I watched some video that my dad brought back and was near moved to tears. The love that these kids have for western culture and for Canada in specific is insane. On Sunday May 1st my Dad and his traveling partner will present what they learned to the community of Soul Sanctuary and I highly recommend you show up. I don't care if you don't believe in God, I don't care if you have never been to "church" before or what-have-you. Show up. You will be moved.
So if you see a bunch of Facebook posts on my wall, or if you happen to get a random friend request, be chill about it. It is not some sketchy app that I accidentally clicked on
but rather 100% real people looking for connection.
"The supporting evidence either makes the cross the single biggest hoax of all time, or the hope of all humanity."
- Max Lucado
Something that has been ever-growing within me during the past few weeks is my love of God. God - the eternal, everlasting, divine, supernatural, all powerful, all knowing, the-list-could-go-on. Yes, the God of the Bible, the God of Christendom. I cannot personally fathom a world without God, as far as I see, it just makes sense.
Over that past few years I have seen many "Christians" stray away from the label "Christian" and rather supplement it with "Son/Daughter of Christ" etc. For example: When I say Christian, you say? Probably Westboro Baptist Church, maybe hypocrite? With such a negative response it is no wonder why someone would want to distance themselves from the label "Christian".
But we have devoted so much time to finding the label that suits us, or doesn't suit us, that we seemed to have neglected the message behind the variety of labels. Let me tell you, your label just gives you something to fall back on when you don't understand your own beliefs. When your asked "What does it mean to be a Christian?" you are already labeled Christian so you don't see the need, or rather you don't know how, to explain your belief, your faith, your whatever it may be.
We rely on our label to do all the talking for us. The "I can go through the motions and never really need to know what I believe" mentality has to stop, because it is far more common than you think, and all it leads to is a big crash. Let's put this into perspective: You attend every class all year, you listen to the lectures but you never fully understand what you are doing. You can get by like this for a while, but eventually, when the test comes along you are going to crash. Same deal with your faith, you can only fake it for so long. Own it, make it yours.
Stop worrying about what you are called, Christian, Christ Follower, whatever it may be and begin to understand your faith and what it means. Begin to open up your Bible and live out the teachings of Christ.
I have been putting off blogging all week. I have had plenty of time to do it, but it seems like I have always found an excuse not to do it. As for that, I apologize.
When was the last time you had a seriously "trippy" experience? Let me rephrase that, when was the last time you had a seriously trippy experience while completely sober? While mine was last night, while sleeping. Although the experience is somewhat personal and I would rather not share it, I had a dream that had a direct relation to the date that it was, and to boot, I have had the week off so I was not even aware that this date was coming up. Anyways, that to say, the human subconscious seriously weirds me out sometimes.
On another note,
It often happens this way; sometimes I feel insecure about something I have written, yeah I'll admit it... I feel that what I wrote was too scatter brained or would be too hard for anyone to follow, but once I post those type of posts I get an incredible amount of positive feedback, therefore reinforcing me posting blogs and musings that I don't always feel comfortable sharing.
After one of my recent posts on smiling I happened to get a series of texts and Facebook messages. Each and everyone was uplifting and encouraging in some way. When I initially wrote up the draft for "And Sometimes a Smile" I didn't really know where I was going to go with it. I felt totally apprehensive about posting it, but once I got feedback from it, posting it was the best thing I could have done.
Let me break it down for you, my ultimate goal in life is to make a difference.
I want to change someones life for the better. I have already had plenty of opportunities to do this and I hope that I have been successful in most of them. Like I said, once I posted "And Sometimes a Smile" I received a whole lot of positive feedback. But I would say that the most important message communicated to me came in the form of a Facebook message from a girl that I have known for about 2-3 years now, she happens to be a few years younger than me but is a very mature and level headed person.
The context of her message was simple, it was a thank-you. She told me that I had succeeded in at least one life, I made some sort of a difference in her life. This is honestly the greatest joy that I could experience. Knowing that I have in some way, made a difference.
It is exam season, that explains the leave of absence from the blog. I write two exams tomorrow, it's going to be a heavy day, keep me in your prayers. But I can assure you, I have a review (at least 1) in the works as well as a pretty solid piece dealing with relationships. I am sure you will be able to take something away from it.
Anyways, I leave you with a video. What more could you want out of a Youtube video?
You get:
- 100.5 the Peak
- Said the Whale
- We Are The City
- Dan Mangan
- Hannah Georgas
- The Zolas
And the list goes on...
I would also like to highlight that my review of Del Barber's Love Songs for the Last 20 made it onto Del's press page, pretty sweet deal. You can read the review here - http://just-walk-in.blogspot.com/2011/03/album-review-del-barber-love-songs-for.html
It's most definitely a shift in the times, my friends. Remember good ol' Myspace? I am not talking about Myspace in the sense of networking friends together but rather in the context of Myspace Music. Let me tell you, Myspace Music is officially dead.
I can remember putting together the social media aspect of my first "band." Yeah, Eventual Epic was on Facebook (still is I think, down to 20 fans or so) and we were also Myspace. We never really garnished a lot of attention but we had a Myspace, that meant we were legit.
I went onto Myspace yesterday to listen to a few bands. First off was Annex Theory, (listen to 'em here - http://on.fb.me/fsf9mk) I have never really been a huge fan of harder genres of music but it's a buddies band and they are seriously talented, so I couldn't not (double negative, I know, so shut up) listen to them. I also was on Myspace to listen to Julia Kasdorf, (http://mysp.ac/gXeOL1) I heard her open for Del Barber a few years ago and have been in love ever since. The only problem being, I don't think she has released anything for years now, sad sad story.
Anyways, while listening to tunes, like I do, the beats stopped. So naturally I went to the page to see what happened. As I opened the page Myspace had decided to tell me that I needed to log in to continue listening. In the top right corner was an exit button, so I clicked it. What happened next is unimaginable...
Every song on the playlist had been shrunken to a 30 second preview.
Seriously?! Myspace, you didn't just do that did you? I hope you know, you have officially shot yourselves in the foot, for the last time. I honestly don't remember Eventual Epic's password, and I have way to many accounts on this thing called the internet, I am not going to make another one so I can use your porn-ad-filled, slow, emo girl nursing website. I am sorry, but I am gone.
After I left Myspace (and took a walk to cool my jets) I headed over to the new Myspace, actually, I don't like comparing it to Myspace, lets just call it Bandcamp.
Bandcamp was brought to my attention some time ago, it is that same basic idea as Myspace Music, but it kicks it in the shins and then uses it as a stepping stool to get over the fence. Bandcamp has officially pushed Myspace to the curb with to reluctance.
With the same initial concept of Myspace, allowing artists share their music, Bandcamp takes things to the next level. Bandcamp will allow the user (band) to put up their tunes, allow their tunes to be shared via multiple internet embedding resources and also allows them to sell their tunes.
Bandcamp also boasts about having a 5:1 album to track purchase rate while the majority of other sites (i.e. iTunes) have a 16:1 track to album purchase rate. What does that mean exactly? More sales - meaning - more money in your pocket!
A note to all you musicians out their. Tell Myspace to go home. Sign up for a Bandcamp account, and let it be. I can guarantee you that your experience on Bandcamp will blow away what you have ever done on Myspace.
What do you think about Valentine's Day? I got a series of texts and BBM's today wishing me a "Happy Love Day", "Happy VDAY", "Happy Safe To Be Single Day" and the like. I honestly have never really had a problem with Valentine's Day, but this year I have seen it differently.
In elementary school it was all about giving Valentine's to everybody, but you would write and extra line in the card for the cuties in the class. Something unique to each of them, in the hopes that they would compare cards and be jealous of each other... Players play after all.
In Junior high the totally hip thing to do was to buy somebody a "Cookie Gram." At my old high school the "Food's" kids would bake cookies and write something cute in the icing and then anonymously hand them out according to whom they were bought for. At the end of the day, whoever had the most cookies was clearly the most popular and liked.
In high school there was a different approach. I can remember writing a long letter to the girl who I had an interest in at the time, there may have even been a hug and a kiss tossed somewhere in there. But you know, all that ushy gushy kinda stuff.
But this is the only Valentine's day that I can remember where there is no nerves, no planning and honestly, no significance. I can't say I care to much for this day. No, not because I am bitter that there is no lady on my arm, but rather we seemed to have turned it into another consumeristic celebration. We raise our prices and end up buying more stuff anyways...
As much as I gripe about the consumeristic nature of our holidays I do think that they all have something special to them. Valentine's Day is no exception. I honestly do think that there is something cool about having a day to spoil your loved one and to 'renew' our relationships.
But, on the other hand, Valentine's Day should theoretically be lived out everyday. It is not just a special day to have dinner with your partner or to buy them flowers and head out on a date, after all guys, you should be doing this everyday. No, not taking them out to expensive dinners and all that jazz, but I do believe that your ladies (wives and girlfriends) should be treated like princesses each day of the year, and not only on February 14 when your looking to 'get lucky.'
I believe in love, I believe in the power of love, but I also believe in the abuse and misuse of love. This Valentine's Day take a closer look at what you happen to call love. I encourage you to question love, because your questioning will either end it, or make it stronger.
Oh! And before I forget! To those who are single. Don't worry about Valentine's Day, don't let the fact that you are single stress you out. Being single is pretty darn awesome, I must say so myself, nothing against all the good girls out their, but there is something sweet about, as Jason Derulo would say, "Riding Solo."
Here is a beautiful song by The Burning Hell. A band that fascinated me live, they put on a great show.
The first is a little video to accompany a cover of the tune, and the second is the original.
"Love, it’s like a hurricane: it happens in Florida, it gets into everything. Love, it’s like a monster truck: it fills up whole stadiums, but it crushes smaller trucks Love, it’s like a marmoset: it may be small and cute, but sometimes it eats its young Love, it’s like a trailer park: ugly but functional, the rent is cheap enough Love, it’s like a garbage man: it collects waste and filth, it smells like rotting flesh Love, it’s like an interstate: it gets you from place to place, but it’s littered with dead raccoons Love, it’s like a newborn child: seems interesting when it’s young, gets pedestrian after a while Love, it’s like a hurricane: it happens in Florida, it destroys everything."
I want to hear what you think about Valentine's Day, comment or link below!
As the majority of you know, I am a Christian. I am unashamed by my faith and live it out to the best of my ability. I believe that the road I have chosen is right, pure and most importantly, true. I am not one to shove my belief's down your throat but I do speak with conviction and confidence when it comes to the bare bones of faith and sharing my faith to those who wish to hear.
I had the opportunity today to speak with a student at the University of Manitoba who did not believe the way I did. Although he gave credence to some areas of my belief we disagreed in the fundamental basics. He is a muslim and I am a Christian. He asked a series of questions and I am looking forward to meeting with him again.
I think there is a beauty in respectful and positive dialogue between those of different religions and those of no religion at all. But, I emphasize the "respectful and positive." Let me remind you of something, I don't force my belief in Jesus on you, don't force your belief in nothing on me. Don't get me wrong, I have had some very good conversations with atheists (and people of other faiths) as well, but come on, don't be an ass.
Dear Friends, Today I have a request of you. Yes, a request. In the 6 years that I have been blogging I have asked for nothing more than your thoughts. But today I ask for a little more.
There is a church within the city of Winnipeg that is asking people to give $10 towards habitat for humanity. None of the money go to the church, I can assure you of this, but it goes to building a home for a family in Winnipeg that needs it. The goal of Soul Sanctuary (said church) is that they wish to raise $75,000 dollars in a few weeks for this cause.
The way I see it... $10 will get you 2 coffee's from Starbucks. $10 will get you lunch. Or $10 can help provide adequate housing for someone who needs it.
So I ask you to donate, not for me, not for you but for someone who could use it a little more than we could.
Dear Friends, I have been 'living the life' lately. I am enjoying every part of this good ol' life of mine. Let me explain... So I am currently enrolled in the University of Manitoba taking a general supply of arts courses. I am not really sure what I am working towards but its all good, I am young.
I am done school everyday in the morning (still taking a full course load, by the way) and at noon I head down to work at Quest Musique on Portage. It is a pretty sweet deal. I love being surrounded by all the gear all day and the people I work with are pretty darn awesome as well.
I have also taken on another job, the culture reporter/writer for the Manitoban. Yes, I am hired by the university newspaper. For those of you who refuse to pick up the Manitoban for whatever reason, maybe give it another shot, and if nothing else just turn to the culture section and you'll find my writings.
I love my church too! Oh my, just the environment is intoxicating (in a totally positive way). I look forward to heading to church on Sundays and meeting with a solid group of guys on Wednesday nights.
Oh and now... Politics... I went out with a friend last night to a social for a MP candidate. I had so much fun during the night, speech's, pictures, dancing, food. The works. But I have caught that political spirit that I once had about a year ago. There is something exhilarating about politics to me. I have a huge interest in them. It is still an open door for a future career option.
I am still not sure what I am going to do with my life yet, but I am young.
I hope you all have a great week, take it easy.
"We don't deserve blessings of any sort. But God Bless you all."
Dear friends, I have recently caught onto a vision of sorts and am working through a lot of things. I know that is pretty vague but I'll let you know more about it in due time. But my ultimate goal is to make a difference. He is a solid poem I found about making a difference. This goes out to all the current and aspiring teachers out there.
So, I am not even going to ask the question as to who has a cell phone but rather how often you use your cell phone. By 9.08 am this morning I sent and received 3 text messages. Yesterday alone I received 69 text messages and sent about 52. Allow me to check my call log.., since the new year has started I have reached my phones capacity to hold calls, conversations lasting from 7 seconds to 89 minutes. So, needless to say, I use my cell phone a lot… But what about you? Do you use it more than I do? Less?
On our most recent New Years Eve I was out at the lake. My dad was going to make a trek into Brandon Manitoba to check out some snow machines or something. I went along and just wasted the day away with my pops. On the way back we got into a pretty solid conversation. I can remember nearly it all to a tee yet one thing he spoke of blew my mind. He used the words ‘static medium’ in regards to human communication.
Say we have two individuals. You and I. In today’s world you could be in a extremely remote region and I could still have some sort of communication with you. Whether via satellite phone, text messaging, internet etc. There is no doubt that in almost any region that you wonder on the face of the earth I could still probably manage to communicate with you in some form or another. Now, where does ‘static medium’ come into play?
A medium is a way or means of expressing your ideas or of communicating with people (thanks to the dictionary for this one). And if something is static it means that it remains the same, that it is constant. My best definition of a static medium in regards to media is text based communication (either one or two way) in which each person can receive and perceive the information portrayed to them in whatever, which way they wish. Case in (very exaggerated) point. You send me a text message reading “I hate you.” Now, how do I react? 1. I believe you. You actually mean that you hate me, and in fact I hate you right back. So much so that I will not even reply to your text. 2. I don’t believe you. I realize that you have a light hearted side to you and I assume that you are joking. I decided to answer your text with an “I love you too.”
No emotion is successfully transferred through simple static words, we lose the aspect of tone of voice and body language in their entirety.
The downfall of communication in our generation is simply called the SMS Text Message.
There is not a doubt in my mind that given a generation of children growing up with Msn Messenger, Facebook Chat and Texting that we will successfully breed a socially inept generation.
Think about it, for one more second. Ever had a fight over Facebook, Msn or Text? Would that fight have the same outcome if it were to happen face to face with that individual? Would that fight ever have happened if you were face to face with that individual? Tell me I am wrong… It is pitiful to see what we have become, for someone to look down at their phone and receive a message of bitterness when they know full well that the sender would have never said what they just did face to face. It creates a persona of anonymity and cowardliness. When someone loses the ability to look another in the eye and tell them ‘what’s up’ we know we have a problem…
I’m not even sure how to even start combating this issue, but I think I may have come up with a few simple starter steps in minimizing the damage done by texting and other static mediums.
1. Limits… Only you know how much is too much. When texting is running you into the ground, or maybe when you have had a fight via text, give it a break.
2. Use a Phone… Your cell has more than one use… It is called a cell phone is it not? They why don’t you try using it… Using a phone will enable the ability to determine emotion by tone of voice, much better than reading into a text.
3. Confrontations Stay Away From Electronics… When you need to say something important to someone, grow some and do it. None of this ‘easy way out’ jazz. Do it face to face, don’t be stupid about it but be real and get your point across the way it was meant to get across.
4. One Simple Rule… If you wouldn’t say it to ones face… Then don’t say it over text.
I love hearing your thoughts, I encourage you greatly to leave a comment, as a writer there is nothing more satisfying then know that someone is reading your work and is taking time to ponder it.
Here is my first published poem. I urge you, if I can say it to you face to face, take the oppertunity. A shady video probably does not do it justice. Anyways, the words are posted below. Enjoy, comment.
We've Grown Up
See we were once tiny little babies, Held by our mothers, Cradled by our grandmothers, And kissed by our fairy godmothers.
We couldn’t walk into the room, But as soon as we entered it we instantly became the center of attention. Every set of eyes gazed on us, But we knew no such thing as an ego and simply lived to breath and breathed to live.
We knew how to scream and how to cry, But I would hazard to guess we didn’t even know we were alive. All we did was sleep, and eat and poop and repeat.
We were tiny little things, Kissed by God and delivered into the arms of our mothers, Free from any folly, white as snow, We were innocent, through and though.
But We’ve grown up.
See we were once not so tiny little children, Both boys and girls learning to read, Learning to write, Learning to count, and learning to fight.
These were our pivotal years, When all we knew was school and what mommy told us. We didn’t have a care in the world except that which was for lunch.
We played tag and kicked a soccer ball, Some of us watched TV and movies, And the crazy ones - they had their first kisses.
But we’ve grown up.
Now we entered this stage called puberty, Oh No… Not puberty. See we learnt of something called hormones, And how our ‘friends’ had this magical power of putting tiny little butterflies in our stomachs.
From those magical spells cast upon us we learned of things called crushes. He crushed on her while she crushed on him, but him was not he, he was a different him. Now of course, this led he to heartbreak, another discovery of this age.
Now things grew even more confusing than my last stanza. If you thought the He’s and Him’s were complicated, You had another thing coming when you reached the and, if’s or buts.
But, we’ve grown up.
Now, we entered another stage, another chapter if you will. They called it high school, We learnt of public showers and how all the other kids were built just like we were. Half of us jumped into these watery death pits, While the other half waited till they got home, see they learnt of a little thing called self conciseness. A terrible thing I will admit, but a necessary one.
And remember those crushes? Yeah, well they turned into boyfriends and girlfriends who would hold hands while watching the scary scenes in snow dogs. Any excuse to touch was excuse enough. Now boyfriends started stealing the virgin lips of their girlfriends. Then in two months, it all ended and both boyfriend and girlfriend would go on to new boyfriend and girlfriend and add to the list of stolen kisses.
Now we got to this point where we grew up. We stopped playing these silly little games and became adults. Pfft, who am I kidding? It was junior high all over again.
See but this time, this time the stakes were higher. We learned about God, about who or what or if He is. And if He was who is said he is and we started to ask Him questions. We came back to those confusing and’s, if’s and buts and why’s and more questions than we could handle. See, some of us talked with God. But some of us couldn’t get that far.
We learned about calculus. About Pascal and how he was sure of nothing in life, because everything came down to probabilities. But probabilities had nothing on the general theory of relativity. See we started messing with space and time and then we got spacetime now we don’t even know where we are in time, time rules us, time defines us, time destroys us.
By around this point we started winning championships. We learned how to kick a ball into a net and how to shot a hoop. We played our games to the sounds of thousands of screaming girls on the sidelines, all screaming our names. Only for us to realize after the game that those thousands of screaming girls were infact our own mothers, cheering us along, never to leave our side.
Oh, and remember our boyfriends and girlfriends and our two month relationships? Well they turned into more than two months, and by the end of it the we were stealing hearts and not just kisses. This is where we learned of true heart break. Where getting up in the morning was tough because you knew you had to face another day seemingly alone.
But it’s the seemingly that’s the great part. Along hand in hand with our heart break we learned of true friends. Those who would hear us out and who knew what exactly we were all about. Those who would take our side and protect our backs. Those who didn’t care what we looked like on a bad day, Nor did they care what we looked like on any day, Because in their eyes, we are beautiful.
We learned about mom and dad. See for all these years, we took ma and pops for granted. They had this plethora of wisdom which was always available yet we were too naïve to ever tap into it. But the best part was that this wisdom never left us. When we were lost we could come running back, We could ask our questions with no fear of judgement Ma and pops were the best thing that happened since sliced bread. And for all I know, mom was the first one to slice bread.
See, I don’t write poems for me. They are for you, so that you can remember that we grew up. And so that you will not forget that we still have a lot of growing up to do.
We are young, forever young. And while forever young that means forever growing old, Forever learning and forever furthering our knowledge. Forever falling in and out of love until one day we make it or we quit. Forever understanding nothing and forever not understanding everything. Forever praying and forever hoping. Forever singing and forever screaming. Forever in the rain and forever in the sun and forever in the snow, but never in the mud.
*** Updated on 03/24/11 ***If you have searched on Google for a Valedictorian Speech go ahead and use mine as a basis. If you have any questions about a speech email me @ jordangtmichalski@gmail.com
Good luck in writing your speech!
Turns out I am not Valedictorian for this year. I won't lie, I am a tad disappointed but I also understand that when I look back on my high school career I am not going to be in tears at the fact I was not the "big V". Either way, one of my best buddies got it instead so I am pretty pumped for him.
Here was the speech that I pitched to the faculty last week, give'r a read.
Good afternoon and welcome, friends and family, teachers and administration, honoured guests, Pastor Leon, Mrs Bayne and you, the class of 2010. First off, I would like to thank God for allowing me to have the opportunity to speak to you all today.
So, here we are… Many of us have waited thirteen years for this day. From Kindergarten until grade eleven we dreamt and imagined what it would be like to finally toss a hat into the air. We dreamt of growing up and becoming more independent in our own lives. Then grade twelve dawned upon us… in the hustle and bustle of everyday life we almost forgot about graduation… We focused on high school credits and sports team accomplishments. We concentrated on building friendships and on making memories. But now, this is it. Graduation. Today is a day for celebration. Today is a day where your thirteen years of work all pay off. Today is a day focused and targeted around us, the grads.
But to celebrate us we must first look back to how we got here. Mom and Dad, and parents of all these graduates - thank you so much. It is you, the parents, who have pushed us in making decisions as we strive for excellence. It was you who offered your advice, your love and your experience in every area of our lives. When we were stubborn, you pushed through. When we were crying, you cared. When we were needy you provided. We thank you ever-so-much for simply being our parents.
Teachers, Pastors and Mentors. Thank you as well. When we were away from home we were usually in the presence of you. You were the people who encouraged us to do the best that we could, you were the people who we ran to when we thought no one else understood and you were the people who always dropped insight into our lives from an angle we never fathomed. From the graduating class, we thank you.
And to the Graduates. Most of you I have know for a good portion of my life. You have truly been a blessing in more ways than you could imagine. It was you who set an academic bar that I strived to reach, it was you who took a vested interest into my life, and it was you who took the time to simply be my friends. Each one of you has taught me a different and important lesson in the years that I have known you and have made an impression on my life in one way or another. As my gift back to all of you, I give you these thoughts…
It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who once said: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”. This quote captures the idea of graduation in its entirety.
We all have a past… A journey if you will. It started from birth and morphed its way to where we find ourselves today. We attended elementary school and learnt to share the computer in Mrs. Joyal’s grade one class. We grew into children who learnt to work diligently as we longed to go to fun mountain every year from grades four to six. Then we made a leap into junior high where, on the Memphis trip, we learnt about raging hormones, as the bus was separated with girls up front and boys in the back. Our journey continued into high school and eventually grade twelve, from here we learnt what it meant to support a friend in time of crisis. We learnt of the qualities and characteristics of God and how we relate that to others through a bonding experience at camp Cedarwood. We have acquired knowledge through our years and we have come to a point where it is time to put that knowledge into action.
As an accompaniment to our past, all of us have a future. In fact, we have spent this last year fervently preparing for our future. We are aspiring Dentists, Pilots, Lawyers, Engineers, Teachers and Automotive Mechanics, just to name a few. We are people with big dreams and people who have a desire to let their lives take flight. We know that with the proper guidance we can make a difference in our world using the lives we have been given.
But all of it… Our past, our future, graduation day itself. Mean nearly nothing when compared with what dwells in both you and I. It is a overused cliché; “This generation will be the generation that will change the world.” We have heard it said time and time again, but as far as I am aware it has never been as true as it is today. As much as I would cringe when I heard someone start talking about “this generation” it finally hit me… In Mark 16:15 we are called to ‘go into all the world and make disciples of all people’. We are administered a challenge that if taken on has the capacity to change our earth in ways we could never begin to imagine. We, the class of 2010 are the people that Jesus is talking to in this passage. He is calling us out, telling us to spread the word of God in a way that people will understand. Now is the time to be bold in our faith and to take a step out of the boat as Peter did. To rely on completely our Savior who dwells within us. Jeremiah 33:3 is a promise from God, saying; “Call to me and I will answer you, tell you great and inconceivable things you did not know.” One on hand God gives us a task, yet on the other hand He give us a promise. He sends us out, but He does not send us out unequipped. Ephesians 2:10 Says that “we are His workmanship, created in Christ to do good works.” God delights in us and He has given us the opportunity to leave High School behind us and to keep on going, to strive for great things in our lives.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”.
Our past and our future are simply tiny matters when compared with our potential, combined with the love of Christ in our lives. Now is the time to go out and to be God’s light in a world so desperately seeking Him.
Now, as I close I wish to leave you with a blessing…
May the Lord bless you as you go on your way. May He go before you to show you the way. May He go behind you to encourage you. May He go beside you to guide and befriend you. May He always be above you to watch over you. And may He be within you to give you peace. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Today's post will not be about the Cost of Discipleship... But rather a documentary called Nefarious 1: Merchant of Souls. Start by watching this video... 
