... I've been inspired.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
In the Hall
I know I post a lot of Lewis, but he just strikes me.
"I hope no reader will suppose that 'mere' Christianity is here put forward as an alternative to the creeds of the existing communions. ...It is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If I can bring anyone into that hall I shall have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. the hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in. For that purpose the worst of the rooms (whichever that may be) is, I think, preferable. It is true that some people may find they have to wait in the hall for a considrable time, while others feel certain almost at once which door they must knock at. I do not know why there is this difference, but I am sure God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wiat. When you do get into your room you will find that the long wait has done you some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not camping. You must keep on praying for the light: and, of course, even in the hall, you must begin trying to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and paneling. In plain language, the question should never be: 'Do I like that kind of service?' but 'Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me towards this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular door-keeper?'
When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your prayers all the more; and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. That is one of the rules common to the whole house."
"I hope no reader will suppose that 'mere' Christianity is here put forward as an alternative to the creeds of the existing communions. ...It is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If I can bring anyone into that hall I shall have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. the hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in. For that purpose the worst of the rooms (whichever that may be) is, I think, preferable. It is true that some people may find they have to wait in the hall for a considrable time, while others feel certain almost at once which door they must knock at. I do not know why there is this difference, but I am sure God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wiat. When you do get into your room you will find that the long wait has done you some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not camping. You must keep on praying for the light: and, of course, even in the hall, you must begin trying to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and paneling. In plain language, the question should never be: 'Do I like that kind of service?' but 'Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me towards this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular door-keeper?'
When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your prayers all the more; and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. That is one of the rules common to the whole house."
- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
This, is my life. I am in the hall.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Weddings
This weekend's gonna be busy. I'm going to a wedding in Delaware on Saturday afternoon, and another wedding in Mansfield on Sunday night. Sat - family, Sun - friend.
It got me thinking about how many weddings I've been to. I honestly can't even tell you. Since I started college I've probably been to 3-5 a year consistently. Recently, the number has increased I'm sure. A wedding weekend is nothing new to me. I'm actually getting quite sick of the things in general. Other than these this weekend, I can think of four more just this summer. I even had a friend today tell me their relationship was moving into marriage prospects. Its a bombardment, really.
Weddings are strange to me. They're like the stars, if you think about them too long they don't make any sense. There is so much work for so little. Gobs of money and time and thought and stress and compromise and money go into a day. People are invited from the farthest reaches of your family to come see thirty minutes of a ceremony. A ceremony that for some reason requires so much preparation for the participants to ... speak. That's it. A wedding is just about two people coming together in front of God, a pastor (or judge), and family to say, "You know what? I love you so much I want to make a contract that I'll never leave you. That's how serious I am."
This may sound like a rant, but its not against weddings, per say. Its more against how weddings are done now. Its not a concert, its not a grand opening of a hotel, its not Christmas in New York... it shouldn't cost thousands of dollars.
$1200 wedding dress? $2000 for flowers? $700 in tuxes? A full meal for all your guests? AND you invited 350 people?
Does any of this make any sense? I think all the pomp and preparation that goes into a modern wedding drastically takes away from the actual meaning of the day. Its, "all 500 of the invitations are made and they misspelled my name," not, "soon I'm going to have your name." Its, "I hope the DJ doesn't say anything lewd or the mother-in-law go out to catch the bouquet," not, "I can't believe we'll get to be together all the time." Its turned from something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue... into that church's too old, I want gold china too, your sister can't be a bridesmaid, her skin doesn't match my colors- ivory and blue.
What happened? Where is the "marriage"? The day is about two people. Not six attendants on each side and making sure they're all sober. Its about vowing to stay with each other till death, not spending the down payment on a house on one party for a fling that lasts a year. Its about a family... the ones who actually know the bridegroom, being apart of a momentous day. They get to hear two people say, "You're worth so much to me, I pledge myself to you. I want to make sure you'll have someone to take care of you when you're sick, work extra jobs when you're poor, hold your hand when your family/job/church is driving you nuts... and celebrate when none of that is happening."
I'm a drama major and I'm saying, all that pomp and production is distracting people. Its taking away from the couple as they plan, its taking away from the guests on the day, and its taking away the glory, from God.
Before you say anything about me not understanding because I haven't been through it, I've been in six weddings. Two I helped in the planning stages. One I was a best man. I even was in two on the same day! My family calls me 27 tuxes.
So make it simple, people. Maybe then you won't get cold feet, or have bruised groomsmen from getting drunk, or feuding families because of details. Look nice, get together, say the real vows (sickness, health, richer, poorer... PROMISE THINGS), and make sure you remember...
... God gave you that person. Thank Him.
It got me thinking about how many weddings I've been to. I honestly can't even tell you. Since I started college I've probably been to 3-5 a year consistently. Recently, the number has increased I'm sure. A wedding weekend is nothing new to me. I'm actually getting quite sick of the things in general. Other than these this weekend, I can think of four more just this summer. I even had a friend today tell me their relationship was moving into marriage prospects. Its a bombardment, really.
Weddings are strange to me. They're like the stars, if you think about them too long they don't make any sense. There is so much work for so little. Gobs of money and time and thought and stress and compromise and money go into a day. People are invited from the farthest reaches of your family to come see thirty minutes of a ceremony. A ceremony that for some reason requires so much preparation for the participants to ... speak. That's it. A wedding is just about two people coming together in front of God, a pastor (or judge), and family to say, "You know what? I love you so much I want to make a contract that I'll never leave you. That's how serious I am."
This may sound like a rant, but its not against weddings, per say. Its more against how weddings are done now. Its not a concert, its not a grand opening of a hotel, its not Christmas in New York... it shouldn't cost thousands of dollars.
$1200 wedding dress? $2000 for flowers? $700 in tuxes? A full meal for all your guests? AND you invited 350 people?
Does any of this make any sense? I think all the pomp and preparation that goes into a modern wedding drastically takes away from the actual meaning of the day. Its, "all 500 of the invitations are made and they misspelled my name," not, "soon I'm going to have your name." Its, "I hope the DJ doesn't say anything lewd or the mother-in-law go out to catch the bouquet," not, "I can't believe we'll get to be together all the time." Its turned from something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue... into that church's too old, I want gold china too, your sister can't be a bridesmaid, her skin doesn't match my colors- ivory and blue.
What happened? Where is the "marriage"? The day is about two people. Not six attendants on each side and making sure they're all sober. Its about vowing to stay with each other till death, not spending the down payment on a house on one party for a fling that lasts a year. Its about a family... the ones who actually know the bridegroom, being apart of a momentous day. They get to hear two people say, "You're worth so much to me, I pledge myself to you. I want to make sure you'll have someone to take care of you when you're sick, work extra jobs when you're poor, hold your hand when your family/job/church is driving you nuts... and celebrate when none of that is happening."
I'm a drama major and I'm saying, all that pomp and production is distracting people. Its taking away from the couple as they plan, its taking away from the guests on the day, and its taking away the glory, from God.
Before you say anything about me not understanding because I haven't been through it, I've been in six weddings. Two I helped in the planning stages. One I was a best man. I even was in two on the same day! My family calls me 27 tuxes.
So make it simple, people. Maybe then you won't get cold feet, or have bruised groomsmen from getting drunk, or feuding families because of details. Look nice, get together, say the real vows (sickness, health, richer, poorer... PROMISE THINGS), and make sure you remember...
... God gave you that person. Thank Him.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Personality
The more we get what we now call 'ourselves' out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become. There is so much of Him that millions and millions of 'little Christs', all different, will still be too few to express Him fully. He made them all. He invented - as an author invents characters in a novel - all the different men that you and I were intended to be. In that sense our real selves are all waiting for us in Him. It is no good trying to 'be myself' without Him. The more I resist Him and try to live on my own, the more I become dominated by my own heredity and upbringing and surroundings and natural desires. In fact what I so proudly call 'Myself' becomes merely the meeting place for trains of events which I never started and which I cannot stop. What I call 'My wishes' become merely the desires thrown up by my physical organism or pumped into me by other men's thoughts or even suggested to me by devils. Eggs and alcohol and a good night's sleep will be the real origins of what I flatter myself by regarding as my own highly personal and discriminating decision to make love to the girl opposite to me in the railway carriage. Propaganda will be the real origin of what I regard as my own personal political ideas. I am not, in my natural state, nearly so much of a person as I like to believe: most of what I call 'me' can be very easily explained. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His Personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.
- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Friday, May 14, 2010
Feeling Creative...
Wow, I feeling really creative!
First of all, I now have in my possession, physical copies of my book. Oh...yeah. I have to tell you it has not, for one second, felt like I had written a book until my brother handed me those stacks of bound paper. On the way home I just kept looking through them, brushing my fingers over the inked words on a real piece of paper. Wow...
So that has really gotten the creative side of me up and moving. I'm kind of getting bombarded with artful things. A friend of mine is sending me some of her songs she's written and just listening to her sing, and sing something brand new, excites me! I've been reading Carlos Whittaker's blog Ragamuffin Soul, which is very encouraging for a Creative Christian. The last post came from his blog. He's also clued me in to this, which I love. And this, which I really want to go to. I mean, isn't that coolest website ON EARTH?
I will tell you one thing. If there is one thing in this entire world that will stimulate your creative soul, it is a walk through the woods. I just couldn't waste the day, I had to take advantage of the sun and trees. It was beautiful. There is a smell in the woods... like wet bark and sunshine, it is the best smell. The light flickering through the green leaves, the mud under my sandals, the birds singing an opera, and as we were heading back I got a whiff of one of the most comforting and powerful smells on earth... a campfire.
I can assure you the deep part of my heart where creativity burns is blazing like that campfire.
Let's see what we can create...
First of all, I now have in my possession, physical copies of my book. Oh...yeah. I have to tell you it has not, for one second, felt like I had written a book until my brother handed me those stacks of bound paper. On the way home I just kept looking through them, brushing my fingers over the inked words on a real piece of paper. Wow...
So that has really gotten the creative side of me up and moving. I'm kind of getting bombarded with artful things. A friend of mine is sending me some of her songs she's written and just listening to her sing, and sing something brand new, excites me! I've been reading Carlos Whittaker's blog Ragamuffin Soul, which is very encouraging for a Creative Christian. The last post came from his blog. He's also clued me in to this, which I love. And this, which I really want to go to. I mean, isn't that coolest website ON EARTH?
I will tell you one thing. If there is one thing in this entire world that will stimulate your creative soul, it is a walk through the woods. I just couldn't waste the day, I had to take advantage of the sun and trees. It was beautiful. There is a smell in the woods... like wet bark and sunshine, it is the best smell. The light flickering through the green leaves, the mud under my sandals, the birds singing an opera, and as we were heading back I got a whiff of one of the most comforting and powerful smells on earth... a campfire.
I can assure you the deep part of my heart where creativity burns is blazing like that campfire.
Let's see what we can create...
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Just FYI
I find myself wanting to write more. Which is a little strange, but every time I log in I stare at my last post and think, "Is there anything new to talk about?" I know that's one of the oldest and lamest excuses in the history of writing, but it truly affects me. I just don't know what to write about.
So instead I read. I read books, devotionals, pamphlets and other blogs, and you know what a lot of them say (when they're talking about writing)? Write what you know, tell your story. Well, that's good and all, but when it comes down to it, my life isn't terribly write-worthy. Heck, I don't talk about the majority of my day in my daily conversations. So what's there to write about?
I did all this thinking while brushing my teeth, and then I looked down at my new toothbrush. You know how the new ones have those ridges on the back of the brush so you can clean your tongue? I gave it a shot and almost threw up. Not a good thing with a mouth full of toothpaste. Sorry, Oral B, this is one tongue that is not going to be appropriately hygienic.
Its such a well intentioned invention, but it makes me gag. And that made me wonder, how many other well intentioned inventions disagree with people? For that matter, how many good foods, medicines, charities, churches, well intentioned ideas, words, converstations....
actually make people gag?
So instead I read. I read books, devotionals, pamphlets and other blogs, and you know what a lot of them say (when they're talking about writing)? Write what you know, tell your story. Well, that's good and all, but when it comes down to it, my life isn't terribly write-worthy. Heck, I don't talk about the majority of my day in my daily conversations. So what's there to write about?
I did all this thinking while brushing my teeth, and then I looked down at my new toothbrush. You know how the new ones have those ridges on the back of the brush so you can clean your tongue? I gave it a shot and almost threw up. Not a good thing with a mouth full of toothpaste. Sorry, Oral B, this is one tongue that is not going to be appropriately hygienic.
Its such a well intentioned invention, but it makes me gag. And that made me wonder, how many other well intentioned inventions disagree with people? For that matter, how many good foods, medicines, charities, churches, well intentioned ideas, words, converstations....
actually make people gag?
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