-Jon Foreman
I keep thinking about this, I can’t stop thinking about this. Like that phrase is just ingrained into my thinking.
When I was a few years younger, think 14-17, I had that “I think I got it figured out but I’m going to keep my eyes open just in case.” I wish I could go back and tell that girl, no, you DO have it right. You are so right, there is no room to question, no room to wonder, do not waver, do not lose focus! DON’T! Stop letting your peripheral vision wander into the places that will do nothing good for you. Feel free to see in black and white, that’s what keeps your head, your heart, your soul straight.
It’s funny that people often look ahead, and think “5 years from now, I’ll look back and think how wrong I was.” Sometimes, I wish I could trade the present now for that instead. The one thing worse than trial and error is looking back and realizing things were right all along, seeing where you went astray, wondering what could have been done differently.
The more double takes you have, the more doubt can cloud that truth. If faith isn’t tested and in turn, given the room to grow, then it probably isn’t faith, but a blind by-product. When that truth, that faith, gives doubt and wonder and second-guessing room to blossom, and leading only to actions and words that are littered with regret, it’s a terrible thing to conclude that the younger you was much more accurate.
Discovering the absolute truth of life, values, love, God, relationships, and faith when your younger is absolutely a gift. Be careful; don’t let your own flesh warp it into looking back, and transforming it into a burden.
Learn, unlearn, re-learn.
Lance Cpl. Kenneth Pairsh is a local Marine who was killed in Iraq in 2009. When he died, our city honored his life like a hero with the whole motorcade, US flags descending from the fire trucks, etc. It was really special. At his funeral, they spoke well of him and not one negative thing was said about him. They even mentioned how he rescued a pregnant woman from crossfire. I knew him and we talked a few times in school and to be honest, this kid was one of the biggest douchebags around. Very high-minded, treated his fiance like poop, and stole her money to pay for drugs. To be honest though, I’m glad he’s dead. That guy sucked so bad and I knew from day one this guy was bad news. When at his funeral, I wanted to get up and remind everyone about his drug addiction. If you are a Marine and struggle with a drug addiction, you deserve to die and should not get any praise whatsoever because you’re not a honorable person. I’m still butthurt that he got a hero’s welcome. He’s not a hero, he’s a crackhead! Lets not forget that very important fact about him. Everyone who struggles with addiction of any kind needs to die and have their death laughed at. I almost put white powder (a small amount) on my nose just to mock his addiction at his funeral LOL But that would be “disrespectful”. No its not, he represents the USMC, and he should be disrespected the same way he disrespects everyone who wears that uniform. I know some of you might have family members who have passed away with these “demons” but I’m sorry, if they died with those demons, they deserve it and should be ridiculed. If they couldn’t respect their own life, why respect them? I’d make fun of your family too if they had a drug addiction. I don’t care how “awesome” they were or how many lives they touched around them. If you do drugs, you get laughed at by me.
(100 points to anyone who understands this is fake and see’s the hidden point I am trying to make about a certain celebrities death).
Its more than love at first sight, a petty infatuation. What we have, it’s gonna be real. I promise that as time goes on, I’ll take good care of you and treat you the way you deserve. This may be very forward of me but… Dare I say it, you’d look so good on me, I just want you so badly! Someday, we will be together. I promise.
This conversation took place between my father and another pastor. Truth be told, hearing the description made me giggle until I eavesdropped further.
“How do you feel like the annointing is drowning you in the pulpit and you feel like your words are bouncing off of plaster statues? When God moves the worship team into a unique state of spontaneous praise and the Spirit goes unrecognized? I want em to leave the dignity left outside the sanctuary, pastor. Inhibited praise needs to go.”
I’m not sure if my eavesdropping served an honorable purpose, but he had a point. Remember in 2 Samuel, chapter 6 when the Ark was being brought into Jerusalem? And David was leaping, jumping, dancing for joy? In worship, you have the opportunity to be graced with God Himself… if you’ll invite Him in. I can understand that some have more reserved methods of worship than others, but speaking on my own behalf, I am horribly ashamed of the way I’ve stood, hands at my hips, nodding to the beat.
What leaves me ashamed is that once I’ve progressed into a half-hearted state of surrender, I’ve thought, “Alright, I’m loosened up enough. I think this amount of praise is pretty good.” Obviously, if my level of spiritual ecstasy is coherent enough to produce that thought, then the notion itself was completely errant! I’m pretty sure even David himself would have never come to that conclusion. But just when you thought it couldn’t get better… When David was challenged for his utter lack of inhibition, he wasn’t worried about damage control! He didn’t think, “Oh man, how am I gonna explain my behavior?!” No, he said “I will become even more undignified than this!”
The Word says David was a man after God’s own heart. I don’t think I could ever consider myself after the love and heart of God with a constant struggle to maintain elegance and pride.
I can’t win the heart of God being a “hippie Christian.”
