the shallows.

so for about a week now i have been living as what i call "the shallows." "the shallows" means that i have been enjoying the frivolities and superficialities of life. this is not the bad "superficial" when we say that someone is being materialistic. i'm more talking about superficial as meaning the surface of a thing. perhaps like a wall with etchings on its surface, like an engraving.

nonetheless, that has been home for me for a bit. the first few days i kept thinking that there was something wrong with living in this "surface" place. and i corrected myself. i don't think it is profitable to remain in the shallows forever, however, i do think it is nice to visit them. so i have been enjoying my visit. this "shallow place" was incredible in the last few weeks. the shallows have been much like tidal pools that develop in the northwest shoreline. these tidal pools are inhabited by sundry species of most intriguing nature. now sure, they might not be the wonders of the deep ocean with enormous whales and coral reefs, but in those tide pools you get a glimpse of the rest of the ocean world.

i have been getting a glimpse of a world that enjoys the trends and the passing pools of today, and i will admit something that is hard for me to admit to: i absolutely am obsessed with these shallows. i am like a kid waking every morning to see what kinds of things are the in shallows today. like what are the new songs on top 40 radio, what tv shows are the rave, what's peoples takes on celebritydom, fashion, movies, cuisine, etc.

my favorite author recently discussed about why twitter is so great and he explained that these surface conversations are like portals to the world of the other person. these surfaces might be just enough to swallow you into their depths. knowing these facts and thoughts of others will probably never win me a game of trivial pursuit, but it has been well worth it.

i have been swallowed and have almost felt like i enjoyed a journey to a strange new world. i must admit, i have come back from there two days ago due to one conversation. it feels good to be in my typical world of depth and feeling "overwhelmed" (which i love) by the complexity and sheer size of my world, but i caught myself a few times today not enjoying my conversation about the last movie my coworker watched or what kind of breakfast my friends enjoyed. cheers to the shallows. i shall visit again.

proverbs 27.19 (MSG) - just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.

-peaks out.

brand.

so like a month ago, my best told me about how he was doing this mad cool project where they like “brand” each other in his small group. so he basically challenged me to “brand” him. i was kinda uncertain about it all, then i realize that we brand people by nature anyways. we call them things like “freak, weird, geek, jock, etc.” instead of utilizing these random safe phrases, i attempted to think of a better metaphor for my bro. so i have been thinking about my “brand” and was very curious about what kind of branding would be given to me. since this seems very elusive i will try to help you out.

when i branded a friend lately, i called them a “rancher.” they are the kind of person who can round up a group of individuals, point them in the right direction and guide them there. they are able to be a brander to those they are leading for their stature and their leadership calls them to do such. people much like cattle need to be lead and guided by someone who cares for them. that is my friend. he is kind and yet firm. his visioneering always takes people to a place where they are refreshed, like a rancher who does whatever it takes to get his cows to greener pasturers and cooler water. oh yeah and a rancher isn’t ‘fraid to rope the cow in and prod them when they are stubborn.

hopefully that helped in understanding “branding.” please encouarage those who love you deeply and care for you to challenge you by branding you. i would invite those who would like to brand me to speak into my life. thanks. remember branding is not just what you see the person doing, but also what they could be.

-peaks out.

Drews & Claires

so i was kinda inspired by my brother to blog again, and he didn't even know it. so thanks nickley. i will start off by saying that to understand this post, you might have to watch the movie Elizabethtown like 50+ times which means once more that I have watched it.

currently, life is in a state of evaluation. i am evaluating everything, pondering things said, introspectively calculating decisions made, thinking incessantly about the typical things: God, life, love, family, friends, jobs, school, future, past, present, you know the normal stuff. so far my meanderings in my mind have been inconclusive to say the least. i don't really know what i think about some of these topics. in some ways i am in a state of impasse. i am not sure how i should feel or what i should feel about said topics. am i supposed to love my work everyday? should i will myself to call old friends? can i be open and honest with family? am i being selfish? do i even know what love is? can God feel closer to me? are the promises of God yes and amen? will my future be greater than my past? will i be the man i want to be? or the man God wants me to be? are my aspirations focused on my will or God's? etc. etc. etc.

in many ways, i feel that i am Drew Baylor, living in Elizabethtown far from home, knowing that i am living in the failure of my plan that sank like the Titanic (Drew's Spasmotica Shoes). many have seen this movie and either love it or hate it, but i am one of the ones that finds myself mirroring that film, as i live my life. my life often feels like a funeral. it always seems that i am burying things or having death surprise me, especially in a strange place, encountering bizarre situations and even more bizarre people. this mostly leads to feeling overwhelmed by it all. i find myself quoting the movie as it speaks in some kind of comfort language that is my native tongue. but if Drew were left to himself, it wouldn't be a good story.

the beauty of this movie (and my life) is that God often brings me to a place of deep melancholy where crazy things are occurring and my life is spinning out of control. i am just frustrated on so many levels that he places crazy people like Claire in my situation. these Claire's are those people who have experienced such things and want to love you through it. the people who want to talk to you from sundown til sunrise. the people who make you mixed CDs with their favorite low and high songs. the people who "you can never forget but are impossible to remember." those people are the ones that get you through it all. they are beautiful, considerate, caring, and lovely in every way. they are the sages of suck. the magi of mayhem. the wisemen of wackness. these people just always know what to say, how to say it and have the authority and power to change everything in your perspective. Claires are your hope. they remind you that "we are intrepid, we go on." i guess all that to say is that i have been lacking some Claire-moments. but even though they have been absent, i know they are coming. my life has often played out where Claires showed up in the last moment, but they came. so i am waiting on the Claire.

i guess really i am waiting on God. he's the best version of Claire possible. he basically does all the things she does but perfectly. so i guess right now, he and i are taking a roadtrip, listening to a few of his favorite tunes, both of celebration and lament, rocking in the depth of feelings, having the wind blow the stank off me, being closer to him than i have ever felt, dancing in the forest, and finding him echoed in the people and places i come across. i've probably only been driving for a few hundred miles, maybe i should go a little further and see what he has in store at the World's 2nd Largest Flea Market. maybe he'll meet me face to face.

Comfort.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in my affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." - 2 Cor 1.3-4

this verse has basically been ruling my life since Tuesday. i find myself somehow always running back to it in conversations with people. it has been extremely applicable to many people's lives including my own. i love when God reveals that you have been missing out on what he has always wanted for you. this verse is one of those times that has breathed freshness in my perspective about affliction and comforting others. 

generally, i have bought into this idea that comfort has to do with accommodations and to be frank, fluffy pillows. thus comfort is something to be bought or bargained for. this kind of comfort is never enough, it barely soothes the people afflicted and must continued endless to "meet the needs." however, my study of comfort has a much more valuable balm to offer in that it is a secret to long term peace and wholeness about life's difficulties. 

comfort comes from the Latin word fortis (tipped hat to Boss Sharpie), which literally means brave. i found that to be intriguing to say the least. to comfort someone has the idea of coming along side of them so they are brave. i then went to the Greek for more specificity. The Greek word was paraklesis, which is literally "a calling near." however, it has been appropriated to mean a "strengthening, a helping, or empowering." i found myself blown away that comfort really has to do with making someone braver, stronger, and powerful, rather than patting them on the back and saying it will be okay. 

the key to me would seem to be the responder to that calling near. i love that this passage resonates the relationship with God being the empowerer of our lives in the difficult times and by doing so, he empowers us to do the same in other's lives. our role in the earth is to minister to people giving to them the incredible strength and courage to live their lives for the Lord. reminding them that it is only in the weakness and affliction of our lives that God can make his strength complete and mature in us. 

the impetus behind this comfort is mentioned in Philippians 2.1, where right before he describes the mind of Christ he speaks of the comfort that one can find from love. Love is the force that drives us to comfort those in need and to make brave those who are in tough places. Love becomes the reasoning and the motivation to all we do, whether it is weeping with people to show our shared life or it is speaking truth to them to deal with the issues at hand. Love is the principle thing if you are going to be a comforter like God is a comforter. 

comfort. encourage. strengthen. make bold. love. 

sounds like a challenge to us to know how we are to help those in need. bolstering instead of band-aiding. 

- peaks out. 

Top 5 Books

today, i asked my discipler the question of what were his top five books. he gave me a few, but told me he would work on it. my seriously joking side told him, "it should be a blog topic." he readily agreed. after that, i knew that i must also contribute to this topic. thus, here are my favorite five. i will say this as a disclaimer: all of these books deserve healthy conversation and thinking of the concepts and none of them are without flaw. 

Genre of Spiritual/Philosophical Literature

1. Understanding People by Larry Crabb

2. Out of the Question...Into the Mystery by Leonard Sweet

3. I & Thou by Martin Buber//God & Man by H.H. Farmer

4. In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen

5. Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt & Certainty in Christian Discipleship by Lesslie Newbigin

Genre of Fiction

1. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

3. The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

4. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

5. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

Way too many others to mention. But this is a start.

- peaks out. 

my disciplers top two were: 

1. The New Reformation by Greg Ogden

2. Generation to Generation by Edwin Friedman