DISTURB ME

"Disturb me, when the things I've gained cause me to lose my thirst for more of You.  Disturb me, when I've acquired success only to lose my desire for excellence.  Disturb me, when I give up too soon and settle too far short of the goals You have set for my life."

This was a quote from a devotional i have e-mailed to me every day, and it really resonated in my spirit.  The truth is, I don't want to be "disturbed".  I want easy, comfortable, calculated, safe, peaceful, lazy, as little effort as possible, free rides, a pampered life.  It is often a fight for me to complete the most simple of tasks and disciplines.  So, I guess what I'm talking about is self discipline or self sacrifice.  Kind of what Paul was talking about when he talked about making our bodies our slaves, to be a "living sacrifice".  Doing what you don't want to do for the cause of christ, as if you were working for him.  Such an easy catch phrase "Work as if you were working for the Lord".  I've heard it a thousand times, but have never really felt like it truly registered in my brain.  I long for that motivation to kick in sometimes.  That i would be driven to serve and impress my heavenly father in whatever way possible.  I suppose it all comes down to reverent, God-fearing, ambition, that drives me to excellence.

So, the prayer I prayed today was simple.  "Help me."  Teach me how to surrender my will to yours, and teach me how to be empowered, and emboldened by your spirit.  Give me passion, and ambition to live life for You.  For it is because of You that I live at all.  Disturb me."  - Jon.

127 Hours - The Overcomer

So i finally just watched the movie 127 hours.  For those unfamiliar, it's a true story about a dude (played by James Franco) who falls into a ravine, gets stuck under a boulder, and (spoiler alert) needs to cut off his arm in order to escape...  it made me pretty emotional so i wanted to make a few comments on it... deconstruct it a little... people love an overcomer.  We love to see people beat the odds, beat circumstance, bluff their way through a bad hand dealt... that's why the world still has at the very least an 'appreciation' for characters like Jesus, or Ghandi, or Martin Luther King... overcoming is the stuff of happiness, engrained in us all... what is hope if it's not the hope to overcome something.... poverty, disease, pain, life itself... we want, need, live to overcome.  That's why we get emotional i guess... it's the inspiration to go on, and not just to go on but to try harder, to press ahead, to persevere.  Makes me think about my weekly battle to do something as simple as hitting the gym... how small the trial of pushing myself to 20 minutes on the treadmill is compared to what james franco's character was going through... life is all about the desire (or lack thereof) to live it... the problem is, we often don't have the motivation to move until it's too late... retroactive motivation never works... deathbed regret is probably the saddest thing we as humanity know.

I guess the application here is pretty simple. don't live numb to the life that surrounds you. enjoy it. laugh through it. overcome.  - Tim.