Hope

I watched Apollo 13 this weekend. It is a great movie. I have seen it many times before so i knew what was going to happen. I knew that the astronauts were going to make it. I knew that they were going to land safe and live. If only life could be like a movie you have seen before.

When all hope seemed lost. Most people thought that the astronauts wouldn't make it. They had every reason to doubt. They thought that the batteries wouldn't last, the heat shield was cracked, and the parachutes wouldn't launch. The striking part was when the doubters were talking about all of this they said, "this is NASA's darkest time." The hopeful man though, my hero, who still believed and had hope said, "with all do respect gentleman, I think this will be our finest hour."

That shut them up.

The truth is that amazing happens all the time. Some people never realize this. I never realize this. Waking up every day is amazing. Walking is amazing. Sunshine is amazing. It's the little things every day that I take for granted. I am out there looking for too much. I am looking for something so amazing that even I can't believe it.

Hopefully, when times get hard and we want to give up we will remember Apollo 13, the "successful failure." That it is the hopeful one who prevails and it is not our darkest time, but will be our finest hour.

What I Learn From Scrubs

I like the show Scrubs. I watch it online when I get the chance. I like it because it is a brilliant and masterfully shown. I learned a lesson from one episode about never being too old to learn what a child can learn. I forget sometimes the basic things that I learned as a child. To always play nice, to try my hardest, and that it's alright to cry. Because as I grow up I am not always nice, I am kind of a meanie. I don't try my hardest all the time, because I'm lazy. I am always afraid to cry, because showing my feelings isn't manly. It's a show like Scrubs that gets me to think. It teaches me lessons that I would never come up with myself. It always makes the simplest of things so apparent, yet I never realize them. My professors and teachers only teach me what they're supposed too. They never teach life. I like having a constant reminder of the simple things that I need to study every day. I like going back to Sesame Street.
Watch it here

Feet Love

I read awhile ago that a large percentage of people do not wash their feet in the shower, causing them to get their bath mat even dirtier.

Someone once asked me what was the greatest example of love I ever experienced. I told them in 5th Grade my teacher washed my feet. She had a bucket of water and some nice soap. It was slightly awkward for me being in 5th Grade and not a lot of people volunteered to do it. I think I did it only from peer pressure. As she was drying my feet off she asked me some questions.

"Matt, do you know Jesus loves you?"

"Yes," I said rolling my eyes cause I've heard this a bazillion times.

"Do you know that He died for you because he loves you?"

"Yes I do," I replied more seriously this time because I saw that she was serious.

I remember her eyes. Tired from washing so many feet but so enlightened from washing so many feet. It didn't mean much to me back then but I remember it being a pleasant moment in my life. More so because my feet were super clean rather than knowing that Jesus loved me. As time passed I have never forgotten that moment. I realized that it spoke volumes in my life. That moment of my teacher on her knees exhausted and washing my feet was a true example of the Kingdom. A Kingdom not of Kings and Queens, but of servants of the Lord.

Happy Valentines Day, V-day, or Single Awareness Day. May you experience Kingdom love from your significant other, your friend, or just a random person, and may you know of the true love of the Kingdom of God.

Even Superman Needs Help

I realized today that every superhero had some sidekick or person in their lives. Batman had Robin. Superman had Louis. Spider-Man had Mary Jane. I realized this after working out. I saw that most people had a spotter, assisting them when the weight got to heavy.

After working out I thought about a girl I saw today as I walked into the cafeteria. There she was sitting along the wall crying with a phone in her hand. I walked away. I felt bad because I had no classes and was in no rush to do anything. I have no idea what to do in a situation like that. If I walk by I feel terrible and if I stay I might get into something over my head. I thought that maybe if I had a sidekick that helped push me along I might do more radical things but sadly, I have no sidekick. I think the girl might've been searching for a sidekick too, trying to reach someone through her phone.

I try to think about superheroes without their sidekicks, or their support. I don't think any superhero would last very long. I believe in people overcoming larg obstacles, but I don't believe they can do it by themselves. Everyone needs a teammate, a coach, a teacher. They need one because when the roller coaster of life gets low, or the weight gets to heavy, someone has to pull you out.

The Finish Line

I worked out today. While I was working out there was some worker fixing a machine that I have never used so I didn't really care what was wrong with it. I did, however, have to use the machine next to it. Of course it had to be the ab machine, my worst enemy. I always do it last because then I allow myself to take my merry old time. So as I am waiting as long as possible until I have to do another set I watch the guy next to me work and work. Every so often he looks at me and shakes his head in disappointment. I don't know what was wrong with it but I didn't say anything.

Just stared.

Eventually I realized that he needed some help but I still didn't say anything. I just finished my last set of my ab workout and walked away. I usually pack up and walk out but today I went to the drinking fountain because I was thirsty. This meant that I had to walk by the worker again. He was looking around, I think for a helping hand, so I kept staring because I was intrigued who would help him. I think we made eye contact but I looked away so he wouldn't notice my staring.

As I started walking away I realized how uncomfortable I had become with socializing with other people. I realized how uncomfortable I was with myself. So I was led to go help the guy out. I walked up to him and said, "Hey, you need some help?"

He didn't reply, just nodded.

He was trying to pull off this piece from the top of the machine and it wasn't going so well. I got on the other side of the machine and waited for my instructions. If he pulled the piece off to hard he would fall off the railing he had climbed up on and would probably break something. He told me later that he would like save his back. So he was in this weird position pulling this top part out slowly. Eventually, he got it out without falling over. He then handed it to me. He went back onto the floor and grabbed the piece from me. Then he spoke. He had an Australian accent, but didn't talk like it. He put the piece down and said,

"Let this be an encouragement for you to finish college, dude. I mean it, you don't want to be doing what I'm doing. So finish college dude."

His encouragement worked. I consider him a wise man and a philosopher.

Green & Labels

I recently gave away a few of my clothes. I realized that the labels that I was wearing did not reflect who I am. After all this time of blogging about "becoming who you truly are" and "to stop hiding under your armor" I realized that I myself was not doing anything about it. I felt like I was hiding behind my clothes. So after being convicted for some time, fighting with my feelings, and talking about it with my mom, I decided to give them away.

So the new vision of my wardrobe will reflect who I truly am. I started searching around the internet for non-sweatshop and eco-friendly clothing. I searched and searched and came across a couple of places that I deemed suitable for my requirements. Currently, I have not ordered anything due to the fact that I am not in need of new clothes. Interesting how that works out.

It seems to me that giving away some clothes seemed to be no sacrifice at all. I contemplated for so long about only giving away a fraction of my clothes that I was convicted about. After time, I realized that it was pretty useless to give away only some of my stuff. I was urged to go for the "all or nothing" approach.

I urge you to think about how you are labeled and how you label other people. It reminds me of a children's book titled "You Are Special" by Max Lucado. The only thing that matters is the opinion of your maker and He thinks you are special. A great quote in the movie Transformers is what Optimus Prime says about humankind:

"There is more to them that meets the eye." 

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Luke 6:37

It's Not About What I Want

There are times that I feel God and I are in debate. I want a certain something, and He is showing me something else. I argue, telling Him that I could do everything He wants me to do with what I want. He rebuttals, telling me to go in a different direction. I get angry, He stays calm. I lose sleep, He gives me energy. I get depressed, He brings me joy. Even though I wish upon many stars I forget that I am wishing against the thing that made the stars. As much as I wish I could have everything I want. I know that what I want and what He wants are different. I know that I cannot win, I know that He'll get His way.

So here I am, send me!

It's not about me, it's about You.
It's not about my will, it's Your will be done.
It's not about my priorities, it's about Yours.
It's not about my comforts, it's about You comforting me.
It's not about the easy way out, it's about the right way.
It's not about the people, it's about Your people.
It's not about my education, it's about educating others about You.
It's not about my hurt, it's about the hurt You already went through.
It's not about my failures, it's about Your successes.
It's not about what I want, it's about what You want.

My clenched hands do not want to give myself up, but I know it is no use to try. So arms open wide I dedicate myself. I trust in You, to send me through fire and flame and back again. For You are God and You declare,

"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

The Kingdom Not Of Ballerinas...

Today at chapel we were entertained by a group of ballerinas that did not dance, but did another form of worship that looked a lot like dancing. I would describe the performance as beautiful in some respects, yet lame in a very obvious way.

So now imagine this. The stage is dark, the lights dim, and a voice comes on saying a pray for the people in the audience who haven't accepted Jesus as their Savior and then mix it with a bunch of stuff about blessing the United States. The prayer consisted of saying "Jesus" or some version of that every ten seconds and was said emotionally, yet not passionately. After the "prayer," the lights go up and a rendition of "God Bless America" blasts through the speakers while a waving flag projects onto the screen. Past Presidents and the Statue of Liberty even pop up on the screen as the ballerinas dance and move around. They pop up some words onto the screen that go with the words of the song. The words "God Bless America" comes up and added onto that was "we pray." So it seemed to me this was some kind of Ballerina Kingdom.

After that song they did "Hail to the King" which I deemed as rather frustrating. I sat in my chair, both hands on my face as it was shaking. They do some rant with American Patriotism and then sing a song to the King. Last time I checked you cannot serve two masters.

I was planning on showing the below video all by itself with maybe a few words to explain it, but the Lord works in many ways so I combined YouTube and Ballerinas into a blog. I like what the video says about the true Kingdom.