God makes beautiful things...even out of dust.
October 29, 2011
October 26, 2011
When The Semi Became Less Scary
Last week I was driving down the highway when I passed a semi-truck.
I hate semi-trucks. I hate driving near them, behind them, in front of them, and especially alongside them. They are just big scary monsters that could run me right over if they felt like it. The semi is quite wide too, and I feel like my lane is being overtaken when I drive next to them. Kind of like the scene in Star Wars when they are stuck in the garbage shoot and the walls are slowly closing in on them. I get that feeling.
I usually just drive really fast by them so I don't have to deal with the feeling of being destroyed at sixty miles an hour. I also imagine that being my excuse to the cop that pulls me over. "Yes sir, I was going pretty fast, but did you see that semi that had it in for me? It was going to destroy me so I ran away."
I have a great amount of respect for semi-truck drivers though, because they know the rules of the road, or at least most of them do. I think they are really good drivers in an insufficient vehicle for their skills. One night, I was driving back to school and a semi passed another semi on the highway. The semi wanted to get back into the right lane because they were slowing down traffic. So the semi that got passed flashed their brights when the passing semi had enough room to merge in front of them. I thought it was awesome and have wanted to do the same since.
But last week I saw a semi and I passed it quickly like always. I had enough time though to look inside the passenger side of the semi and to my surprise there was a kid sitting in the seat. I could only assume that is was the drivers son. A son that the driver probably hadn't seen in awhile. Supposedly semi-truck drivers are on the road so much that they don't see their family a lot. Supposedly they get super lonely on the road too. This kid in the passenger side of the semi was all wide-eyed, looking down the road, like he was having a good time. I felt compassion for semi-truck drivers everywhere and my feeling of being destroyed slowly went away.
That is when, to me, the scary monsters of the road became the gentle giants.
I hate semi-trucks. I hate driving near them, behind them, in front of them, and especially alongside them. They are just big scary monsters that could run me right over if they felt like it. The semi is quite wide too, and I feel like my lane is being overtaken when I drive next to them. Kind of like the scene in Star Wars when they are stuck in the garbage shoot and the walls are slowly closing in on them. I get that feeling.
I usually just drive really fast by them so I don't have to deal with the feeling of being destroyed at sixty miles an hour. I also imagine that being my excuse to the cop that pulls me over. "Yes sir, I was going pretty fast, but did you see that semi that had it in for me? It was going to destroy me so I ran away."
I have a great amount of respect for semi-truck drivers though, because they know the rules of the road, or at least most of them do. I think they are really good drivers in an insufficient vehicle for their skills. One night, I was driving back to school and a semi passed another semi on the highway. The semi wanted to get back into the right lane because they were slowing down traffic. So the semi that got passed flashed their brights when the passing semi had enough room to merge in front of them. I thought it was awesome and have wanted to do the same since.
But last week I saw a semi and I passed it quickly like always. I had enough time though to look inside the passenger side of the semi and to my surprise there was a kid sitting in the seat. I could only assume that is was the drivers son. A son that the driver probably hadn't seen in awhile. Supposedly semi-truck drivers are on the road so much that they don't see their family a lot. Supposedly they get super lonely on the road too. This kid in the passenger side of the semi was all wide-eyed, looking down the road, like he was having a good time. I felt compassion for semi-truck drivers everywhere and my feeling of being destroyed slowly went away.
That is when, to me, the scary monsters of the road became the gentle giants.
October 22, 2011
Song of the Week 10-22-11
Paradise is different for each person. Sometimes it is far away and sometimes it is right under our feet.
October 19, 2011
October 15, 2011
Song of the Week 10-15-11
Someone in high school once told me that this could be my theme song, and I agree. I loved playing it in pep band, and as I was thinking about pep band I thought of this song, and then I thought about epic sepia tone pictures of me on a horse with a cowboy outfit with an epic sunset in the background.
October 12, 2011
Learning More About Myself
One of the perks of being an RA is having the opportunity to take free tests to learn about yourself.
So far I have taken two tests. I took Strengthsfinder and Myers-Briggs. After I take the test we have a big group meeting where we learn more about these tests and each category.
For Strengthsfinder I got:
Restorative - I love to solve problems.
Belief - I have core values that shapes my behavior.
Connectedness - I believe we are all part of something bigger.
Harmony - I think there is little to gain from conflict and friction.
Developer - I see the potential in others.
I think that pretty much describes me.
For Myers-Briggs I got ISFJ which means:
Introverted - Energized by the inner world.
Sensing - Work with known facts.
Feeling - Base decisions on personal values.
Judging- Planned, decided ways of life (closure).
If you're familiar at all with this test you know the other options from mine are Extroverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving.
I actually mostly tested in the middle between both extremes, which I kind of disagree with. If I were to take the test again I believe things would turn out differently. During the meeting I graded myself as a INFJ. A lot of this test depends on how you felt during the test and a lot of times people always have a little of both. I was also conflicted between who I think I am and who I want to become.
Either way, it was pretty interesting. It is usually hard for me to analyze myself and figure who I am as a person so these tests help get another perspective on things. It is an interesting question to ask yourself, "how well do I know me?" or at least I think it is interesting because I sometimes feel like I don't know who I am anymore. So, if you want, Google the two tests above and see if you can find a free one online, or ask a friend to analyze you.
So far I have taken two tests. I took Strengthsfinder and Myers-Briggs. After I take the test we have a big group meeting where we learn more about these tests and each category.
For Strengthsfinder I got:
Restorative - I love to solve problems.
Belief - I have core values that shapes my behavior.
Connectedness - I believe we are all part of something bigger.
Harmony - I think there is little to gain from conflict and friction.
Developer - I see the potential in others.
I think that pretty much describes me.
For Myers-Briggs I got ISFJ which means:
Introverted - Energized by the inner world.
Sensing - Work with known facts.
Feeling - Base decisions on personal values.
Judging- Planned, decided ways of life (closure).
If you're familiar at all with this test you know the other options from mine are Extroverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving.
I actually mostly tested in the middle between both extremes, which I kind of disagree with. If I were to take the test again I believe things would turn out differently. During the meeting I graded myself as a INFJ. A lot of this test depends on how you felt during the test and a lot of times people always have a little of both. I was also conflicted between who I think I am and who I want to become.
Either way, it was pretty interesting. It is usually hard for me to analyze myself and figure who I am as a person so these tests help get another perspective on things. It is an interesting question to ask yourself, "how well do I know me?" or at least I think it is interesting because I sometimes feel like I don't know who I am anymore. So, if you want, Google the two tests above and see if you can find a free one online, or ask a friend to analyze you.
October 08, 2011
October 05, 2011
Bring XXX To The Front
I was on the road to a leadership retreat and was spending my time staring out the window for three hours singing along to whatever was playing on the radio.
While traveling I caught a glimpse of something on the side of the road. It was a worn down, beat-up, XXX adult store. My first thought was, "that place needs a new coat of paint," and then, "that would be an interesting church service project."
Could you imagine?
(Knock, knock, knock)
Owner: uh, hello?
Church: Hey, we're from (church name) and we saw your building could use a new coat of paint. If it's alright with you, we would like to paint it for you.
You can finish that little story how you want, that's how far my mind wandered.
Anyways, farther behind the XXX store was a bigger and newer looking store that had cool flags waving in the wind. It looked like a place of happiness and fun. I did not get a good glimpse of what kind of store it was, but it kind of like one of those party supply stores.
I think it is a great analogy. Bringing our XXX or pain or secrets or "dirt" closer to the road so that more people are likely to see it. I believe, once we get past that, the party can begin. That is when we looked past the XXX and see the party behind it.
I like it more than the other way around, with the party place in the front, because eventually someone is going to go out the back door of the party and see all the XXX, and once they learn all those things, they can't unlearn them.
So I like it with the XXX in the front. I like it because when we walk by it and people ask about it we can say, "Yes, we've been there and we gotten through it, and yes it was tough, but let me tell you, it made this place even more special. It's so real here, at this happy place, so clean, so open. Why? Because we've been there, we've been to the XXX store of our lives, we know about all those things, and we accept you, and forgive you. So let's party"
Does that make sense? I'm not literally talking about walking through a XXX store. What I mean is revealing your dirt your pain your struggles your insecurities your habits your emotions your scars your...XXX's. Your inner XXX store that you hide from everyone else in the world. It's hard to do, to disclose of such things but it is so rewarding in my opinion. What's left to hide after we have nothing to hide from?
I'll try to find this place on Google Maps. It has not been successful so far. That way we know where to go when we want to do a service project.
While traveling I caught a glimpse of something on the side of the road. It was a worn down, beat-up, XXX adult store. My first thought was, "that place needs a new coat of paint," and then, "that would be an interesting church service project."
Could you imagine?
(Knock, knock, knock)
Owner: uh, hello?
Church: Hey, we're from (church name) and we saw your building could use a new coat of paint. If it's alright with you, we would like to paint it for you.
You can finish that little story how you want, that's how far my mind wandered.
Anyways, farther behind the XXX store was a bigger and newer looking store that had cool flags waving in the wind. It looked like a place of happiness and fun. I did not get a good glimpse of what kind of store it was, but it kind of like one of those party supply stores.
I think it is a great analogy. Bringing our XXX or pain or secrets or "dirt" closer to the road so that more people are likely to see it. I believe, once we get past that, the party can begin. That is when we looked past the XXX and see the party behind it.
I like it more than the other way around, with the party place in the front, because eventually someone is going to go out the back door of the party and see all the XXX, and once they learn all those things, they can't unlearn them.
So I like it with the XXX in the front. I like it because when we walk by it and people ask about it we can say, "Yes, we've been there and we gotten through it, and yes it was tough, but let me tell you, it made this place even more special. It's so real here, at this happy place, so clean, so open. Why? Because we've been there, we've been to the XXX store of our lives, we know about all those things, and we accept you, and forgive you. So let's party"
Does that make sense? I'm not literally talking about walking through a XXX store. What I mean is revealing your dirt your pain your struggles your insecurities your habits your emotions your scars your...XXX's. Your inner XXX store that you hide from everyone else in the world. It's hard to do, to disclose of such things but it is so rewarding in my opinion. What's left to hide after we have nothing to hide from?
I'll try to find this place on Google Maps. It has not been successful so far. That way we know where to go when we want to do a service project.
October 01, 2011
Song of the Week 10-1-11
My roommate bought Prince of Egypt on iTunes, which reminded me of this song, which reminded me to join the dance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)