A Letter From Shane Claiborne

This is an article that I happened to stumble upon yesterday, this dude has a lot to say, but stay with it. Completely worth the read.

To all my nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity.

Forgive us. Forgive us for the embarrassing things we have done in the name of God.

The other night I headed into downtown Philly for a stroll with some friends from out of town. We walked down to Penn's Landing along the river, where there are street performers, artists, musicians. We passed a great magician who did some pretty sweet tricks like pour change out of his iPhone, and then there was a preacher. He wasn't quite as captivating as the magician. He stood on a box, yelling into a microphone, and beside him was a coffin with a fake dead body inside. He talked about how we are all going to die and go to hell if we don't know Jesus.

Some folks snickered. Some told him to shut the hell up. A couple of teenagers tried to steal the dead body in the coffin. All I could do was think to myself, I want to jump up on a box beside him and yell at the top of my lungs, "God is not a monster." Maybe next time I will.

The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination. But over the past few decades our Christianity, at least here in the United States, has become less and less fascinating. We have given the atheists less and less to disbelieve. And the sort of Christianity many of us have seen on TV and heard on the radio looks less and less like Jesus.

At one point Gandhi was asked if he was a Christian, and he said, essentially, "I sure love Jesus, but the Christians seem so unlike their Christ." A recent study showed that the top three perceptions of Christians in the U. S. among young non-Christians are that Christians are 1) antigay, 2) judgmental, and 3) hypocritical. So what we have here is a bit of an image crisis, and much of that reputation is well deserved. That's the ugly stuff. And that's why I begin by saying that I'm sorry.

Now for the good news.

I want to invite you to consider that maybe the televangelists and street preachers are wrong — and that God really is love. Maybe the fruits of the Spirit really are beautiful things like peace, patience, kindness, joy, love, goodness, and not the ugly things that have come to characterize religion, or politics, for that matter. (If there is anything I have learned from liberals and conservatives, it's that you can have great answers and still be mean... and that just as important as being right is being nice.)

The Bible that I read says that God did not send Jesus to condemn the world but to save it... it was because "God so loved the world." That is the God I know, and I long for others to know. I did not choose to devote my life to Jesus because I was scared to death of hell or because I wanted crowns in heaven... but because he is good. For those of you who are on a sincere spiritual journey, I hope that you do not reject Christ because of Christians. We have always been a messed-up bunch, and somehow God has survived the embarrassing things we do in His name. At the core of our "Gospel" is the message that Jesus came "not [for] the healthy... but the sick." And if you choose Jesus, may it not be simply because of a fear of hell or hope for mansions in heaven.

Don't get me wrong, I still believe in the afterlife, but too often all the church has done is promise the world that there is life after death and use it as a ticket to ignore the hells around us. I am convinced that the Christian Gospel has as much to do with this life as the next, and that the message of that Gospel is not just about going up when we die but about bringing God's Kingdom down. It was Jesus who taught us to pray that God's will be done "on earth as it is in heaven." On earth.

One of Jesus' most scandalous stories is the story of the Good Samaritan. As sentimental as we may have made it, the original story was about a man who gets beat up and left on the side of the road. A priest passes by. A Levite, the quintessential religious guy, also passes by on the other side (perhaps late for a meeting at church). And then comes the Samaritan... you can almost imagine a snicker in the Jewish crowd. Jews did not talk to Samaritans, or even walk through Samaria. But the Samaritan stops and takes care of the guy in the ditch and is lifted up as the hero of the story. I'm sure some of the listeners were ticked. According to the religious elite, Samaritans did not keep the right rules, and they did not have sound doctrine... but Jesus shows that true faith has to work itself out in a way that is Good News to the most bruised and broken person lying in the ditch.

It is so simple, but the pious forget this lesson constantly. God may indeed be evident in a priest, but God is just as likely to be at work through a Samaritan or a prostitute. In fact the Scripture is brimful of God using folks like a lying prostitute named Rahab, an adulterous king named David... at one point God even speaks to a guy named Balaam through his donkey. Some say God spoke to Balaam through his ass and has been speaking through asses ever since. So if God should choose to use us, then we should be grateful but not think too highly of ourselves. And if upon meeting someone we think God could never use, we should think again.

After all, Jesus says to the religious elite who looked down on everybody else: "The tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom ahead of you." And we wonder what got him killed?

I have a friend in the UK who talks about "dirty theology" — that we have a God who is always using dirt to bring life and healing and redemption, a God who shows up in the most unlikely and scandalous ways. After all, the whole story begins with God reaching down from heaven, picking up some dirt, and breathing life into it. At one point, Jesus takes some mud, spits in it, and wipes it on a blind man's eyes to heal him. (The priests and producers of anointing oil were not happy that day.)

In fact, the entire story of Jesus is about a God who did not just want to stay "out there" but who moves into the neighborhood, a neighborhood where folks said, "Nothing good could come." It is this Jesus who was accused of being a glutton and drunkard and rabble-rouser for hanging out with all of society's rejects, and who died on the imperial cross of Rome reserved for bandits and failed messiahs. This is why the triumph over the cross was a triumph over everything ugly we do to ourselves and to others. It is the final promise that love wins.

It is this Jesus who was born in a stank manger in the middle of a genocide. That is the God that we are just as likely to find in the streets as in the sanctuary, who can redeem revolutionaries and tax collectors, the oppressed and the oppressors... a God who is saving some of us from the ghettos of poverty, and some of us from the ghettos of wealth.

In closing, to those who have closed the door on religion — I was recently asked by a non-Christian friend if I thought he was going to hell. I said, "I hope not. It will be hard to enjoy heaven without you." If those of us who believe in God do not believe God's grace is big enough to save the whole world... well, we should at least pray that it is.

Your brother,

Shane

Original Source: http://www.esquire.com/features/best-and-brightest-2009/shane-claiborne-1209#ixzz1iazxePMP

Merry Christmas

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 hope you take something from this.

Be blessed, and bless.

Rob Bell and Love Wins: A Final Response

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.

"May you experience this vast,

expansive, infinite, indestructible love

that has been yours all along.

May you discover that this love is as wide

as the sky and as small as the cracks in

your heart no one else knows about.

And may you know,

deep in your bones,

that love wins." - Rob Bell

Hope.

Ever wonder what happens when you die? I do. All the time.

I am pretty confident in what will eventually happen to my soul, but it is not mine that I worry about.

My only hope is that the God of the Bible is a God of mercy and a God of grace.

THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE

"At Once I Knew, I Was Not Magnificent"

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.

1 John 4:8b - "For God is Love"

Somehow, though it all, LOVE WINS, period.

Back to Back

A few months ago I was perusing the good ol' Facebook news feed when I saw a video come up. . It had been posted by a cousin of mine who had taken a year of school in England, and like most things in my news feed, I clicked on it. It turned out to be the band "Wolf Gang", a relatively unknown group of gentlemen from England, playing a beautiful acoustic song titled Back to Back.

Between the trench coat, cup slide, fingerpicking, messes of hair and chirping birds, I fell in love. Take a listen to this tune because you won't regret it.

Oh, and on another note... Happy Canada Day!

I am convinced that I live in the best nation on earth, not bragging or anything...

‎"There are no limits to the majestic future which lies before the mighty expanse of Canada with its virile, aspiring, cultured, and generous-hearted people." - Winston Churchill

The True North, Strong and Free.

Yukon Blonde + C.S. Lewis + The Bible = Whatever You Want It To

I got into the car, put the key in the ignition, turned it, rolled down the windows, opened the sun roof, and drove. This is my usual procedure when getting into the car, except this time something pleasantly peculiar happened. Once the car started up a sound filled my ears, a rather pleasant sound reminding me of far off places I have dreamt of yet never seen.

My years were filled with the joyous noises of Yukon Blonde. Yes, another BC band that has once again expanded my musical library. I encourage you to take a listen, I'll pop out a extremely positive review of this album within the coming week.

As for now, take a listen...

Anyways, it has been a rough week on about 50% of the frontlines. While one part of me is celebrating being done school, officially starting up my summer, another part of me is sad. Yup, sad is the best way to describe it. This week has been a whirlwind of constant poor news amongst my friendship circles. Throughout everything I have been holding on to a few quotes and scripture passages, allow me to share.

“Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.” - C.S. Lewis

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails..." - 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a

Be Blessed.

Love Wins - The Carly Henley Project

I was browsing the good ol' internet before class the other day and was reading some book reviews on Rob Bell's new(er/est) book titled Love Wins. The internet, being the internet, can lead to some pretty ridiculous rabbit trails sometimes, but this time, through a series of clicks it put me on a path of sorrow, despair and eventually joy.

Allow me to explain. After reading some book reviews/interpretations (which you should not read until you have already read Bell's book) I stumbled upon a page which was selling "LOVE WINS" shirts. I saw that it was the page for a musician, but being in the library without headphones it was not the perfect time to start playing the jams. Anyways, I found the contact information and sent off an email, making sure someone would reply before I tossed my money out to the internet.

Sure enough, within minutes I got a reply, confirming that shirts were still being sold and that the profits were going to a rock camp for girls. The email was sent to me by a lady named Dede. The mother of the musician, Carly Henley. Dede had asked me if I knew the story behind The Carly Henley project and I said no, but being the inquisitive individual I am, I vowed to do my research when I got home.

Sure enough, there I was listening to Carly Henley's YouTube videos. A lovely lady with a lovely voice.

I tried searching her website for where she was from, with no luck. But when I popped her name into Google a swarm of overwhelming information was sent my way...

It turns out that Carly Danielle Henley took her own life on October 6, 2010 at the age of 20.

You know those moments where you say "Why God?" Yeah, this was one of them. This girl had a bright future and seemed incredibly joyful... I'm not here to try and guess why people do the things they do, but rather to accept decisions made and do my best to use them for good.

Through my conversation with Dede (Carly's Mother) she made a remark that captured what I have been struggling to say for quite some time now.

"Carly was a bright light our world. She shines on still. Her "motto" was "Love Wins." She had this on every guitar she played, written on her wrist, on the bumper of her car. And now, we all must hold onto this. Somehow, through it all, Love Wins, period."

Love Wins has been a personal mantra of mine for a while now, but when attached with this story is gains so much more value. The story of Carly, although tragic, is beautiful. The legacy she left will not soon dwindle away and her life story has already and will continue to change lives.

I encourage you to check out this website, established by Carly's family, making sure Carly's legacy lives on.

Here is one of the last video's Carly posted to her YouTube page.

And last but not least, I need you to remember... That somehow, through it all, Love Wins, period.

Walk On...

Sunday May 29th, 2011 will stand out as one of the most memorable days of my life thus far.

It all started out with a pretty crumby morning, falling asleep Saturday night fully clothed and in a ridiculously uncomfortable position on the basement couch. After that I managed to wake up only 10 minutes before having to leave the house for church. But despite having terribly messy hair I just tossed on a toque and went from there, perks of being a male I guess.

I was privileged to hear quite the message given by Andy Moore (@AdorePastor) from Victoria BC, talking about Elijah and perseverance through tough times. Andy had stayed with my family over this past weekend during his stay in the Peg, he is a totally solid dude.

Anyways, once the gathering was over and I turned to exit the theatre (yes, we have church in a movie theatre) I looked a few rows up and saw a face that I had only seen on T.V. As many of you know, I have been a die hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan for as long as I can remember. I have put up with more crap than you could dream of, but it all paid off. The Toronto Maple Leafs dignity saver, oh, and starting goaltender was a stones throw away. After some pushing and prodding I was dragged over and shook James Reimer's hand and snapped a picture. A pretty good rebound to the crappy sleep.

After meeting Reimer we took Andy to the airport, sent him on his way and got ready for the U2 concert. I have had my ticket since the day that they went on sale early last fall.

My first memorable exposure to U2 was at a funeral back in 2003. The individual who died was an avid U2 fan and the majority of All That You Can't Leave Behind was played at her funeral. From this point forward I dug out all my Dad's U2 albums, most notably Rattle and Hum, Actung Baby and The Joshua Tree. I listened everyday for quite sometime, and it was at this point where I promised myself that I would see them live before they called it quits.

Sure enough, I fulfilled the vow I made to myself last night at 7pm.

The show started as the Fray came on stage and put together a great set, although it seemed to drone on for moments as they lost my attention more than once. Either way, they rocked it, great guys with great voices.

Once the Fray left the stage it was a solid hour and a bit before we finally saw Bono, the Edge, Larry and Adam. To pass the time, a formation of 3 planes did dives over the 50,000 people packed in Canad Inns Stadium, each time eliciting a loud roar from the crowd.

Now, when I finally saw the 4 men that make up U2, I went nuts. They hit the stage with a roaring thunder and never let up. The most memorable time of the whole show was the last half where they played a series of older tunes such as One, With or Without You and my all time personal favourite; Walk On.

I sang every word as loud as I could, often noticing that a lady one row up from me kept giving me strange looks, but hey, I'm at U2, I could care less. Actually, I think there may have been a tear in my eye when they played Walk On, it was the perfect culmination of listening to All That You Can't Leave Behind a million times.

So for all the hype that surrounded U2 it was more than worth it. The experience of having so many people packed into a stadium and then to see the biggest band in the world walk onto the stage was worth every penny spent. I would do it again in a heart beat.

My love for Bono, the Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton has grown more than you know. Such marvellous music, such a brilliant show.

("The Milky Way" from U2 360 in Winnipeg)

(Ending Out the Show in Style, from U2 360 in Winnipeg)

If you have the opportunity to see U2 on the 360 tour, or on any tour for that matter, do it! You will not regret it.

Let me leave you with a U2 lyric...

"And if the darkness is to keep us apart

And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off

And if your glass heart should crack

And for a second you turn back

Oh no, be strong

Walk on..."

Wondering What's Up?

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.

Peace and love, or else.

Faith and Labels

"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.

And Sometimes a Smile

There has always been this little thought that I have stored in the back of my head since high school. I had heard the idea reiterated time and time again by countless numbers of teachers, mentors and speakers. The idea is simple, smile.

They say that it takes more muscles to force a frown than it does to make a smile. Whether that is true or not, I could care less, but the idea behind it is that you may as well smile because it's less effort. But is it really less effort? Think about it, when do you smile? When something has gone your way? When someone made you feel special? Think back for a second, picture a treasured memory and reminisce it... Feel a lot more light hearted now? Easier to smile per chance?

When you walk from class to class at school do you smile? I sure don't... I often find myself caught in a trance of sorts, barrelling down hallways and pathways getting prepared for my next class. Often I will walk by people I know without even noticing them, only to receive a text message a minute later from them asking me why I am upset today. I guess that I just look mad, not a stigma I would like to have associated with myself...

The point here is that although it may seem easy to smile, it's not, you have to teach yourself to smile. If I do not tell myself to put a smile on, which takes about just as much effort as not thinking about smiling, I will not smile. Basic concept eh?

The power of a smile is incomparable to any other gesture. The power that is held in between your lips and teeth is more than you could imagine. I consciously tell myself to smile, only because, the person who sees the smile, may just needed it that day. I can guarantee you that one smile can change someones day, I am sure it has changed some of yours.

On a somewhat related note, I love interacting with strangers, people that I do not know. Whether it be handing out pamphlets and giving a two line speech to everyone who walks through a door, or waving at a car full of teenagers (usually girls, you know how I do) while they pull up next to me at a traffic light. There is something mysterious, foreign and yet intoxicating about interaction with people you do not know. Whenever I do find myself in these situations I always put on a smile. It gives off that warmth, that feeling of "Hey! We just met but I feel like I have known you for years!" You know, all that good stuff.

Now, all that mumbo jumbo to say one thing. Smile.

Why You Love Rebecca Black

You love Rebecca Black, don't deny it, because it's true. You know it, I know it, we all know it.

Think I'm crazy eh? Well let me tell you why I am right and why you in fact do love Ms. Rebecca Black.

If you have not seen this video yet take a look at it here.

So how do I know that you love her? Well first off, you keep going back to her video, we are climbing up to forty million hits, we'll make it there within the next week or so. There is absolutely no doubt that Ms. Black has become an "internet celebrity" similar to the likes of Justin Bieber, except for the fact that contrary to Bieber, her celebrity status was gained by "haters", those opposed to her music.

Now, I am not going to mask any feelings or hide any of my own personal opinions, the lyrical content in Ms. Black's video is at the very bottom on the creativity scale. Of course all teenagers love Friday's and are living for the weekends, but the sheer obviousness and the exact correlation between video and song were a little much to take, but I am not here to critique a 13 year old, which leads me to my next reason that you love Rebecca.

You love to watch people fall, this is not just true for you, but also true of Western Culture as a whole. We are a pretty messed up culture, think about it, we relish in the failure of others. Case in point: Charlie Sheen. How many of you have been watching the whole Charlie Sheen fiasco unfold only waiting for the point when he crumbles? I'll admit it, I am no better, but when we really think about, there is a sick nature to us. So you love Rebecca because of her sense of failure, you love writing nasty comments and joining the hundreds of thousands of others who know how to click a dislike button. It is better known as a mob mentality, just because a few people do it, the rest pile on.

Now once again, I am not defending the lyrical legitimacy of Friday but where do you draw the line between expressing your distain regarding a video or attacking a teenager?

Why else do you love Rebecca Black? Jealously. Be honest, what would you do to be in her shoes? My parents always told me that when someone made fun of me on the playground it was because they were jealous, I now see that to be more true than ever. How long have you been posting Youtube videos waiting to get noticed? How long have you been praying that some Hollywood producer or top NHL coach will recognize your talent and phone you up. What has happened to Ms. Black is only dreamt about by millions of other people, children and adults alike.

Whether you like it or not, in some way or another, you have a love for Rebecca Black. If you still disagree with me on this fact, then at least open your eyes and see that she is only a teenager, yet a teenager that has accomplished what many only dream of.

Hate it or love it, we're getting down on Friday.

Memory Box #2 - Letters

Please tune into track #2, listen to the song and follow along with the lyrics.

The night was an old stray dog,

It was bitter and cold, lonely and hard as stone.

She walked with the world on her shoulders,

As the night crept in colder and colder

And with each step in the rain there rose a melancholic refrain that sang you're all alone.

It sang you're all alone.

He's older and wiser and bored,

As a young man he lived by the sword,

Till he found out that love was a knife and got cut one too many times.

The table was slightly romantic,

But the scene placed upon it was tragic,

She tried to hard not to need he spent all night trying not to bleed

They both longed for the sun in the morning a hand in the afternoon,

The sweet kind of recklessness,

Innocent born in youth,

Before that hole in her heart,

Before he found out that love was sharp,

Well she could re-light the fire but she'd come back with burned up hands,

And he could re-light the fire but he'd come back with burned up hands,

And they could re-light the fire but they'd come back with burned up hands.

- - - - - -

So at the very bottom of my good ol' shoe box happens to be a series of letters, about 20 in total. The significance of these letters? Allow me to explain...

As you know, I am someone who values the written word and after all these years I still blog, that has got to mean something right? See, there is just something beautiful about how language can be woven together. You can take a series of words that apart from each other mean nothing and string them together in a carefully thought out order to create a masterpiece. As visual art is stimulating to the eyes, music to the ears, the written word does not impact the eye, but rather the mind. While there is no doubt that music influences the mind as well, the pure nature of lyrics and of written words is to weigh on the mind.

I have collected these letters over the past 3 years or so. Accumulating over birthdays and multiple random occasions this collection of letters continues to grow. While some of the letters are since dated and I am sure that some of the writers would wish to retract some of the statements made, they still each hold some sort of memory and significance. Allow me to say, it is not healthy to live in the past as you cannot progress in life if you hold on to each and every relationship that has died, but rather you should be striving to press forward into new relationships. In the same sense, failed relationships should not be pushed away and shoved into the closet for no one to see but rather acknowledged, they did happen, friends.

The simple fact is: People change.

You change, I change, he changes, she changes. This fact should not be startling but should provide you with some insight as to why relationships fail. What once started out as a mutual friendship can turn sour when common ground is lost, I could go all Dr. Phil on you, but we are going to save that for later.

Anyways, as I read though all these letters over the past few weeks I am more than thankful for the writers. For the many writers whom I still talk to daily and for those who I don't get around to talking to as much as I would like, for the writers who I have wronged and for the writers whom I have forgiven, for the writers who still breathe, for the writers who have exhaled for the last time, for the writers who are broken and for the writers that are content: thank you. Some of your words are dated and no longer hold the significance they once did, but for that brief moment in time, they meant something.

Now, remember that song that you just listened to? A beautiful yet heartbreaking ballad. The tale of a friendship past. The ending stanza of the song gives an ultimatum. "And they could re-light the fire but they'd come back with burned up hands." What does this mean?

For those in a relationship that is on the fritz, listen up. In every situation there is two sides, sometimes you need to make things right and apologize and sometimes you need to forgive, whatever the situation may be one fact rings true. When your relationship finally levels out you have two choices: A. Relight the fire, or B. Walk away.

Sometimes relationships can be saved, you can use duct tape and band aids to hold it all together, yet other times it cannot. If you are constantly trying to figure out how to make things work, maybe you should stop burning your hands, get some aloe vera and walk away.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.