When You Know He's Grown Up

As most of you may know, I have a little brother who is just now graduating from high school very soon. You may also know that I am quite reluctant calling him my little brother because for some crazy reason, he outgrew me about a year go... messed up.

But regardless, he is still that little brother. If you have a little brother, you know that little brothers fight and argue about everything... and of course, the older brother is always right. Watching the last couple of months unravel has been the most interesting thing I have witnessed in our family. As most of you probably also know, my brother started talking about enlisting in to the Army about a year ago. Not too many people took it too seriously, I think a lot of them thought that he might back down. There were many times where he would say things, and do things that made me think he was way too young and immature for such a serious task. Well here I am, 3 days from his 18th birthday, and he's all set to sign the papers. He just told me a couple of minutes ago that he will be leaving in early July.

That that brings me to right now. I just decided to check out his blog, and I read his newest post directed to my mom. I guess you could say it was an "ah ha" moment. I read the post and for the first time realized... He's grown up, he's leaving, and I'll miss him. Good luck man. Make sure you duck.
Read his post: EVAN'S BLOG

To Blog or Not To Blog...

...That is the question.

I was confronted by a good friend a couple of weeks ago who had read my blog a couple of times. This is a guy I can genuinely say cares about me. He is one of those friends who I can honestly say wants me to be a better friend next year than I am right now, and the year after that. If you're reading this, and you know who you are... thanks. Everyone needs to have a friend like that. Here is a quick verse that this guy reminded me of...

Proverbs 27:5-6

Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.

He told me very boldly that... he didn't like blogging. I asked him why, and he gave me a response that I wasn't quite ready for. He said that when you blog, it is almost like you are saying, "Hey, look at me! I have something good to say!" He said that there is a certain pride in blogging that isn't really representative of a true follower of Christ. I'll admit, at first I was ticked off. I was thinking in my head..."how dare you insult something I love to do, and make me sound like some arrogant jerk!" That is what I wanted to say... but instead I sat there. I thought. I wondered. Then I asked myself the question that every man hates to ask. Am I wrong???

I mean, to some extent he is definitely right. Jesus Christ is the guy that every Christian wants to strive to be like. This is the same man who constantly taught humility in every word and action. This is the same Jesus Christ who got down on his knees and washed the disgusting feet of every follower of his at the table. This is the same Jesus Christ who said in Matthew 23:

⁵"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'

⁸"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. ⁹And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. ¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

That verse makes it seem pretty clear. But then again, there were some very humble people who were sent in to the world to tell other of the "good news" of Jesus Christ. It's actually the charge we are given! We are told to go, make disciples, baptize and then teach.

I do view blogging as a way to go out in to the world. I see it as a small way to plant a small seed that perhaps other people in their life can then water or vice versa. Although it is one way to spread the good word, we all need to remember that it can never replace forming true, genuine, loving relationships to draw those near to Him.

So what I've done is created a couple of small guidelines to make sure if you are a blogger you are doing it for the right reasons...

BLOGGING GUIDELINES!

1 - Always ask the question, "am I honoring God with these words?" If what you say causes anyone to stumble, then you are on the wrong track.

2 - NEVER blog for the purpose of being exalted or praised... EVER!

3 - If you are blogging to get more hits on your analytics, then you need to stop blogging immediately.

4 - If you are blogging to market yourself, be true to who you are, no fake persona.

5 - It is okay to blog to get something off of your chest that you need to let out, just remember everyone is going to see that... potentially forever. It will never go away. Don't blog out of anger or frustration. Let it sit for a while.

6 - Blog when you actually have something to say. Don't sit at your computer thinking about what useless blog you could throw up next.

7 - It's okay to make people laugh! If you want to throw something up there just to brighten one persons day, go for it!

8 - Get your facts straight. You look like a moron if you put something up on your blog that may not be true. People mess this up all the time when using a Bible verse without knowing its background and its context.

9 - Remember legal and logistical implications. You could potentially lose a job or find yourself in a bind because of something you publish in the public eye for all to see.

10 - Don't be afraid to be bold. Saying all of that other stuff first, don't be afraid to be real. Share genuine struggles and joys in life (as long as you keep all of that other stuff in mind!)

So that is all I have for you tonight. Continue to have fun out there all of you fellow bloggers. Make sure you are asking yourself if you are blogging for the right reasons!

Be Still...

Last night was a good night.

After spending my whole entire day from 7am-11pm running all around the world, I ended up at a good friend's house to work on my car a little bit and just chat. Working on my car is usually something I do for me. I do it when I have some free time and I just want to do something that is basically mindless. We worked on the car until about 12:30am and then after that just stood under the stars outside and had a real honest conversation.

This is what I admitted to him and myself...

"I am too busy... When I'm not busy, I immediately find something to do so I am busy. The problem is, relationships in my life have suffered from my busyness. That is a real shame. When it is all said and done, my cars, my resume, my money, none of that is going with me. But these people I interact with... now that is something that will come, that is where the time should be spent."

I find myself, a day later, with a day that isn't so busy. I'll be honest, I am bored out of my mind. I'm already contemplating heading over to get my hair cut, then perhaps I will go to the gym for a while before I find out what some friends are doing so I can go hang out with them. The problem is, when I'm not busy, when there isn't so much noise, I am confronted with myself. I am just alone with God and my thoughts. Sometimes that's enough to make us say to ourselves, "wow... I really don't like that about me," or "what was I thinking?" You know, all of those questions you don't get to ask yourself and definitely not think about throughout all of the hurriedness.

As my life has gone on, I have learned more and more about the discipline of meditation. It is the hardest discipline for me to learn. Learning to pray has been easy for me in the hours and hours I spend alone in the car in a week. Learning to read scripture has become a joy for me as I became educated on what exactly it is I'm reading. But learning to shut up and listen to the whisper that God usually shows up in... now that has been difficult.

For some reason I keep thinking of this same verse over and over again. In Psalm 46 verse 10, "Be still and know that I am God..."

Perhaps that is my prayer today... to be still and be aware of God's presence. I'm sure it's something that all of us can try to do a lot more. Starting with me.