I thought I’d preach at myself a little today… This is another post that’s part of the conversation on arts and culture around the Watercooler with Randy Elrod, and I’m talking more about personal culture than anything else.

There’s a part of me that wants life to be everything that it can be. That wants to live a no-holds-barred, petal-to-the-metal, extreme, radical existence.

And there is this other part of me that wants life to be easy.

Of course, no matter how I live, there will be plenty of times that life isn’t easy. However, I think it’s likely that there will be more resistance, difficulty, tears, and pain when taking that road less traveled, the upper path of a radical existence. Even if that wasn’t the case, it’s hard to deny that such a life requires more from us than going with the flow and simply taking what comes along.

And this isn’t to say that every moment will be action-packed. If you look at the lives of many of the greatest men and women who ever lived, you will see that much of their time was spent doing many normal things. Obviously, you don’t receive a get-out-of-the-mundane-free card just for deciding to live your life passionately. You’ll still have plenty of time to wash the laundry and take out the trash.

However, with the choice to lean forward and go for the gusto, I think we’ll start to have more of those incredible moments. We might even find that we start enjoying even the mundane times a little more.

Why not find what things you were really made for, the things that thrill you (if you don’t already know)? Get tuned into that - so that you have this on your mind and in your heart - even when you’re doing laundry. Don’t avoid the things you dread; run through them, past them, into the things you were made for.

If you could do anything, what would it be? What’s keeping you from that?

Hey there! Here’s another post that’s part of the Watercooler Wednesdays discussion on arts and culture.

Thought I’d try to start a conversation about heroes today.

Do you have any heroes? People who you look up to who have done something great to impact the lives of many or to impact the lives of those closest to them?

Rich Mullins has been a hero and role model of mine, and I’m really glad that he chased after what he was made for. He lived a passionate life of sacrifice and service, doing the things with excellence that had been placed in his heart by God. Like his Creator, Rich also created beauty and spoke life-giving words.

What do you think the world would be like if your hero had never lived or had left their work undone? I know that without Rich, we’d be missing a lot of really great writing and music, and I think there are quite a few people who would have gone without a pretty special friend as well.

How ’bout you… Do you have an idea of what you were made to do or how the world will be different if you don’t follow through?

I believe that there is a purpose God intended for every part of His creation, and that if we don’t fulfill our purpose, other people lose out. On the other hand, if we live life with passion and go after the purposes that God made us for, imagine how the world will be different once we’re done!

Hi, friends!

Couldn’t sleep tonight, and ended up writing a bit in my journal. Thought I’d share some of it with you here. Hope you’re all well.

What kind of love
  Would make a man give up his life?
It's hard to grasp
  You felt this way for me 

What kind of trade is this?
  You gave Yourself
  for backward fallen men like me
You knew that I'd deny Your name
  You could see everything
  before it all took place
And still You thought it worth the price
  to trade Your kingly life for mine 

Here’s another post that’s part of Randy Elrod’s Watercooler Wednesdays.

I recently ran across a list of famous last words on Wikiquote. Check ‘em out here.

I don’t want to seem morbid, but I think it’s interesting to see what people choose (or sometimes just happen) to have as their last words spoken on earth. Some of the quotes are funny, some are sobering, some might even make you to think a bit.

Here are a couple that stood out to me as funny or inspirational (taken from the link above):

• “Am I dying, or is this my birthday?” - Lady Nancy Astor
• “I would rather be a servant in the House of the Lord than to sit in the seats of the mighty.” - Alben W. Barkley, former Vice President of the United States
• “I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.” - Humphrey Bogart
• “I just wish I had time for one more bowl of chili.” - Kit Carson, American frontiersman
• “Thank God. I’m tired of being the funniest person in the room.” - Del Close, improviser, teacher and comedian
• “But how the devil do you think this could harm me?” - Denis Diderot, French encyclopedist, upon being warned by his wife not to eat too much
• “It’s very beautiful over there.” - Thomas Edison
• “I shall be with Christ, and that is enough.” - Michael Faraday
• “I’d hate to die twice. It’s so boring.” - Richard Feynman
• “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.” - George Bernard Shaw
• “It must have been the coffee.” - Jack Soo, Actor and Comic
• “Jesus, I love you. Jesus, I love you.” - Mother Teresa

Check out the longer list if you get a chance… Have any favorites? Which ones? What do you like about them? :o) Any hopes about what your last words might be?

Here’s another post that’s part of the Watercooler Wednesdays discussions about arts and culture with Randy Elrod.

This past week, I was thinking a little about the lyrics of “Mr. Jones,” a song that was pretty popular back when I was in high school. I think one reason it resonated with so many people is because it talks about our desires in a way that we can relate to.

Here are a few of the lines:
…
We all want something beautiful
I wish I was beautiful
…
Help me believe in anything
I want to be someone who believes
…
When everybody loves you, you can never be lonely
…

The truth is that there are a lot of things that we could be tempted to think might help make us happy but we often find that they can’t do that after all. I think Adam Duritz might be hinting at this with his line, “When everybody loves you, you can never be lonely.” By making such a direct statement, he helps us to really think about it and it’s clear that popularity isn’t a cure at all for loneliness.

In my own experience, when I’m in close relationship with God, I find that I’m both better able to enjoy other things in life and at the same time also feel less dependent on those other things (or other people) in order to be happy. Surprisingly (or not), another thing that can contribute to our own happiness is living a life that is centered around serving others. You could almost think that focusing on self could give you a better chance of making yourself happy. However, experience shows us that focusing on self is more likely to lead to depression than anything else!

What are the things that you are looking for in life? Is it possible that you’re leaning too heavily on the hope of them bringing you happiness? Do you have any tips for finding true happiness?

Hi, friends! I thought I’d join the “Watercooler Wednesdays” going on at Randy Elrod’s blog. It’s pretty much a way to connect blog communities together, and everyone who’s participating just posts something on Wednesday about Arts and/or Culture.

For my post today, I thought I’d just pass on a discovery I made this evening of a really inspiring songwriter/singer (yeah, I know it usually goes the other way around, but not in this case). Don’t get me wrong, Laura has a great voice too, but she started as a songwriter…

Check out Laura Story’s bio and music on her MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/laurastory), or on her website (http://www.laurastorymusic.com/).

Had you heard of Laura Story before? What do you think of her story? How about her music?