Long distance Phone Call

I just came off a long-distance phone call. From my mobile. For 20 minutes. And I had one last week too... You must think I am either super rich or I've got a really good phone plan. I am neither. Both calls were totally free. It's because I didn't really need to have a phone to talk to this person. He doesn't have a phone number, or a time when it goes onto voice mail, and you only hear his pre-recorded voice. No, he is able to listen to whatever we want to say, whenever we want, with us paying nothing, not even doing anything special...

By now you should know that I had two long conversations with God. It did feel like a phone call though, because I put my mobile to my ear, and talked into it the whole time. I just felt like it, and for me it was beneficial in concentrating, and letting everything out.

What did we talk about? Just life in general, really... The future, the past, work, school, relationships, friendships, enemies, emotions. Although I couldn't hear God's voice through the phone speaker, I knew he was listening. And it was one of the most satisfying conversations I ever had (Not just because the other side wouldn't interrupt at all, although that was quite special...). It was good because I knew that God was able to do something about what I said.

Most people will either say sorry, try and change the subject, or try to take your mind of the problem if you share anything bad that goes on in your life with them. Which is nice, because that is all they can do. But with God, he changes everything. Not that if you tell him you are getting bullied he will go down and smite the bully! But his love never ends. So when I told him I didn't know what was happening for my future, he comforted me in his hands, and reminded me that he truly was in control, so there was nothing to worry about.

I encourage you to also have a much needed long distance phone call with your heavenly father. The one who will be there no matter what, and love you. And as I love to think. Loved by God? That is the best thing in the world.

A Happy Hobby

10 minutes ago, I was a little down in the dumps, blue in the face, not punching my full weight. You know, sad, tired, annoyed. All those negative things that hit you sometimes and leave you crawling on the floor, wondering if you would ever be able to get up again. But that was 10 minutes ago. Now, I'm quite all right. What happened in the ten minutes? I wrote.

Everyone has a hobby that lifts them up, I suspect. Take for example Molly. She loves to draw. Today wasn't really a good day for her so you see her with a frown and wrinkles attacking her face. You suggest that she draw something. First, she shakes her head fervently. But as you point out the beautiful sky and all the inspiration surrounding her, you see a tendril of a smile beginning to form at the edge of her lips. Which slowly turns into a smirk and then an ashamed smile, which is a smile nonetheless. It is actually quite amazing to see a smile born. I encourage you to try and coax one out of someone sometime.

Anyway, for Molly drawing was her "happy hobby". I'm sure all of you could name one thing that lend you the power to get up from the dumps and to stand up again. If you don't, it is always a good idea to remember that this "happy hobby" is only meant for yourself. If others don't like it, it doesn't matter! Sometimes it is good to be selfish and keep your masterpieces to yourself, especially when others just can't see through your lens.

I also just wanted to add that God is good, because I felt like it, and sometimes we so often focus on what he made and ourselves, we forget that he is there behind everything we do, everything we touch, everything we hear. Loving us, and sustaining us. Isn't he just amazing?

Month of silence

Sorry for the silence this past month, I could make excuses but I think I know what the real problem is. I have become tired of my own thoughts.

When I started this blog, every idea would make it to the drawing board because I wanted to flesh it out a bit, and see what came out of even some tiny observation. However, as the months passed by, I felt that I had to improve on my writing or something, so only select things would be mused on. But what happened was, as the list of things to talk about got smaller and smaller, writing about them became harder and harder, until I wouldn't even want to look at the computer screen anymore. And then comes the month of silence... It really was all my own fault.

Thankfully, I have been rebuked of my stupidity, and can tell you that if you read this blog because of the attention it gives to the small things in life, then you can enjoy it as I go back to doing so.

A short thought to end the post, I think it is a blessing to lose things. (There are many exceptions of course, but bear with me). Recently I was giving my room a well needed clean up which ended with my head being placed 1 inch from the ground as I cleared under my bed. What I found brightened my day! A name tag from a recent conference, which brought back all the memories; a guitar pick, which gave me an excuse to pick up my guitar and play it; and a wrist band, which reminded me of the things I was thinking when I bought it. If I had not lost these things, they would not have been appreciated so much, much like my thoughts. If I had not lost them in the process of trying to clear out my mind (I'm not saying that I am losing my mind though!) I would not appreciate them as much as if they were still there all the time.

So thank you for enduring this month of silence, as I learnt some new things. Hopefully you have to.

Those little things that matter

I've got about 30 minutes left before my body shuts down and I fall into my much needed sleep. What will I share with you? Well, I don't know either! You might remember me wanting to change the style of my writing about a month ago. You also might have noticed, nothing really has changed... I didn't want to break my promise, so a new way of writing, a new way of thinking. Since its the new year, it probably is appropriate. What do you think it means?

Five men walk through the woods.

Talking all sorts of whimsical words such as politics and what sport star is their favourite.

One stops by the road to sniff a wild flower, and is left behind.

Four men reach the nearby creek.

Showing off all their latest gadgets to impress their peers.

One jumps into the creek to feel the cool water rush against his skin, and is left behind.

Three men wait at the train station.

Challenging each other's minds with classic riddles.

One hardly listens, and instead follows the path of a tiny ant, and is left behind.

Two men watching the television.

Tensing as a murderer appears on screen.

One nods off and experiences the true wonder of his dreams, and is left behind.

One man eating his dinner in silence.

Planning his life out so he can relax.

He gets what he wanted...

The others get distracted by better things.

Life is a waiting room

Christmas was yesterday. The people, the carols, the presents, the stories all yesterday. All the build up was for yesterday. Isn't it interesting if you put it that way. We build up so much excitement for something that passes in one day! Liken it to a toy. you save up your money to buy a present you wanted so much and it lasts for one day and then is thrown out. All I can think of is "What a waste!"

I understand that Christmas is not just about the day itself, Jesus' birth is one of the best things to celebrate! My real point is that our lives often seem to be just like waiting rooms. Like the ones in airports. We spend our lives waiting for what we desire.

So back to the Christmas theme, when did you first notice that Christmas was the next big event on the calendar? When the shops switched their background music to Christmas carols? When cars try to mimic Rudolph with their red noses? Maybe when all your presents from last year were used up? For me it was the holidays. Summer (I live in the southern hemisphere) holidays started, and I noticed Christmas was coming soon. From then on my spare time was spent waiting for it. Imagining how the day would pan out.

Throughout the year there are many things we wait for. Weekends, payday, a delivery to arrive, a wedding, a birthday, a test result, a friend to come back. So I think my metaphor gives quite an accurate description of life. In the waiting room, we do have thing to keep us occupied like the magazines, but we are still essentially waiting for something in life.

It needs to be understood however, that this is in no means a negative look at life. Looking at the above list, most of the things we wait for and great! It is when we wait for the wrong things that our lives go to waste. Waiting for your wallet to be filled with $100 notes is not worth the precious waiting time. But waiting for a baby boy to grow into a fine young man is definitely worth spending your waiting time on.

So this Christmas. What are you waiting for? Is it worth it? Everyone only has so many minutes to wait, so make sure you use the wisely.

My mind games

I get bored. You must get bored too. But I get bored quicker, well that's my interpretation anyway. Everyone else seems to find something to do and look like they are interested where as for me, my glazed eye look comes as soon as my mouth or hands stop doing something. So I resort to mind games. They do not increase brain capacity at all. No they are games. Exactly that. Pointless things to waste away the minutes.

1. My favourite is to imagine the area around me 1000 years ago.

Humans have really changed the surrounding landscape. Even green things, like ovals, were probably covered in trees instead of just being a clearing. I could say something meaningful about this, but nature is so overcoming over my senses that it blots out all my other thoughts.

2. Guess other people's thoughts.

Maybe creepy, but as I said, they are mind games, so I'm not going to blurt anything out. Usually I give people very depressive thoughts, and then I think, "Hey I'm not depressed? Why would they be?", so they become happier beings. But I usually think my depressive guesses are more accurate. It's just percentage wise. I think...

3. Finally, I trace my thought process.

So if I were to trace my thought process to this point it would be from:

Mind games --> Stuff I do while I'm bored --> When am I bored? --> When I walk home --> I trace my thoughts...

So I try to go back as far as possible. I remember once I traced my thoughts back to hearing a bee, and that had slowly worked into me thinking about funniest commercials. Whoever can try and guess how that came about, I may award something. Or just respect more...

So when your bored, (Probably after reading this post) try one of them. I assure you, boring times will be no more. And while I'm at it, Merry Christmas. I hope you won't need my tips anytime soon during this season...

History through glasses

I have just completed reading through the Psalms, and as is inevitable, I have struck upon a favourite. Psalm 136. It is a song of praise, interestingly recounting most of the events of Israelites history. What I most like about it though is the fact that after each line comes the phrase "His [God's] love endures forever."

I should confess now that I love to study history. The events, the effects of that event, the people involved, the reasons involved, the legacies of that event. History is an endless flowchart, infinitely complicated, but still all connected by lines all heading the same direction. What I like most about history though, is that a tiny action can start a snowballing effect which leads to massive changes. A good example would be the Arab revolutions. The small group of protesters meeting in Tunisia would never had imagined such a big consequence from their actions!

History can also be very sad too. The wars with horrific stories of merciless killings, the news of devastating earthquakes and other natural disasters, the terror of continued oppression by the government. When we learn about such things we can often question God. "How can God let such things happen?" I think part of the answer is repeated throughout my favourite Psalm. As I mentioned before, every second line of the Psalm is "His [God's] love endures forever".

The title of this post is History through glasses because I often think we can look at every event in all sorts of different ways. We put on our critical glasses and start seeing all the flaws in people's plans, or wear our ethical glasses and get angry at all the wrongs being committed. Well, I think we should try and see History through the glasses of God's eternal love.

So, if we look at the events of World War 2 understanding God's eternal love, we see that, yes our world is broken. Yes, people do die unnecessary deaths. But we know that God's love never dies, so we know he will come to make a new heaven and earth with no more pain, no more wars, no more suffering. It gives us the strength to cope all the bad things in this life, knowing that we have something to look forward to.

History is the story of this world. But this world is not the end. So by God's love being eternal, we know that it will last forever, even when this world does fade away, he will still be there.