The Catch of the Summer

All summer long I’ve found myself fishing North Lake whenever the weekends would permit it. There have been hardly any days which I caught more than 5 good fish. More often than not if I were to catch 1 or 2 fish a day I was content. This weekend the tide finally turned and Jon, Daryn, and I caught over 20 fish in two days. We had a blast. Not only did we catch a lot of fish, but Adam Knapp was there to photograph each and every fish.

Simply put this past weekend was the mother of all weekends with respect to fishing. I had the time of my life pulling in fish left and right. More importantly I want to explain why this experience was so good. Throughout the summer my inability to catch fish brought me to this past weekend where heaven opened up and the fish poured out. It was the countless hours I had spent on the water not catching fish that made this fishing trip that much more incredible.

This is a tribute to everyone out there that spends huge amounts of time attempting anything that yield little results. Stick with it and hopefully all your hard work will produce the desired result you are after.

It's all a mystery

Dumbfounded is the word I am looking for. How else can you describe the illusions of life? Doesn’t life often seem as if it can’t be real? I always find it hard to believe that every day billions of people are interacting with each other as the day passes by. Then when I make it personal, I will never even come close to meeting 1% of the world’s population (1% of the world’s population is 67,723,391 million people). In some sense, it’s impossible for me to fully understand that there is person in China harvesting rice patties as I write this. I’ve never seen that person in my life, and there is a good chance I never will. Regardless of that, I am told that this person exists and lives their life in a place half way around the world from me.

How can we really make sense of a world that is so big? I am not sure it is really possible. Media such as the TV and newspaper give us somewhat of a better understanding of this massive world around us. Traveling also allows us to get a glimpse of a new culture. Simply put the world is too big for even individuals such as the President of the United States to understand. God has uniquely developed this incredibly diverse planet that we always baffle me. I am humbled to know those individuals who leave the comfort of their own culture to go a missionary journey for the Lord. Leaving the world we all know to enter into a new one is certainly a journey.

If we choose stay here in America or leave to teach English in another land, I still believe we have much to learn. Take heart in the fact the world is complicated, appreciate the reality that life is a blessing, and open your eyes and ears to the truth that you will never know it all. Safe journeys to those who are traveling around the world.

Stopped right in your tracks

Life seems perfect when everything is moving forward at what seems to be the speed of light. It is those moments when you find yourself stopped dead in your tracks when you are forced to wonder what in the world is going on. My natural reaction to being stopped is to get moving forward as quickly as possible. However, life often manipulates the situation so that it is impossible to get moving in the same direction that you were going. Sometimes the fork in the road means you must make a turn down a new path. Yet other times it appears we may even need to do a little back tracking.

There is certainly no life map for which directions we are to take. Life is sort of like a map with coffee stains on it. Sometimes the stains may reflect some of the mistakes we’ve made, but more often than not the stains are just the uncertainty of life. We wish the map could show us which way to go. But those stains do a good job of stopping us from seeing which way we are to go. At this point it is our job to have faith the decisions we make without really knowing which decisions are the right ones. We can pray for guidance, and there will be times when God makes it clear as day. My guess is more often than not God will allow you to make the decision. Meaning God hopes you choose to honor him in your difficult choices even without a clear sign.

When you are knocked down, we you are hard pressed on every side, when you are faced with great trials, when you are stopped dead in your tracks, don’t be afraid to do make the tough choice. It will often be much harder than the easy way out. All I can promise you is a much more rewarding experience if you choose the road less traveled. The path that leads to life will always be more difficult yet possess much greater reward.

A new day

One of my favorite aspects of life is the surprises each day brings. Each and every day we wake up to a new experience. Yes the past will always have various affects what is happening right now, but the past cannot manipulate every event taking place right now. The only real power of the past is to set into motion the makings for the day that lies ahead. It is the choices and the discoveries of the new day that truly define what will be written in history for July 3rd, 2009. Yes, tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow is a day unique from every other day in the history of the world.

I do not wish to know all that will take place tomorrow since that would ruin the surprises that tomorrow has in store for us. My prayer is that both you and I will have a complete and true appreciation for all the wonders that a new day brings. Who will you see tomorrow? What will you do? How will your life be changed? These are questions that only tomorrow can answer. So I leave you with expectations of what life will throw at you tomorrow.

As the sun bursts forth from the darkness and light pierces the sky, may you eyes be filled with joy. May you be filled with joy knowing that a new day is upon you. For this is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Hurdles

Do the hurdles in life slow us down? Do they make us stronger? Or are they necessary to teach us something? I cannot pinpoint which one of these questions is most appropriate. Perhaps hurdles our put in our path for a number of reasons, or perhaps there is one main reason. I trust that God uses them for our benefit, yet I am still trying to make sense of them.

When life gives us roses, we often ask for a whole bunch more. Yet it is life’s hurdles that bring us back to reality. Hurdles remind us that we are not invincible, that there will be struggle in this life. Simply put, hurdles remind us of many aspects of life we would rather not deal with. It is our human nature to try to run over these hurdles. Regardless of our many attempts, it is those times that our foot hits the hurdles that we get penalized, and those times when we fall on our face that hurt the most.

Compared to many individuals, I consider myself blessed to have dealt with very few hurdles. So I will refrain from discussing my own hurdles that I am currently dealing with. My question today is what hurdles must you leap over? And more importantly what steps need to be taken for you to successfully go over these hurdles?

Belief...

There is one thing that cannot be stopped. That unstoppable force is belief. Sometimes people lose faith, and lose hope. Rarely do you hear of someone no longer believing. Belief stands apart because once the state of belief is reached there is only one direction to move, and that direction is forward.

Much of the inspiration for this post comes from a song by Yellowcard, the song is titled ‘believe’. 'Believe' is a tribute to those who went into the twin towers to save the lives of others. When the song is fully understood, it is very powerful. Check out the lyrics at: http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Believe-lyrics-Yellowcard/4F6FFEA5C0DBCBDB48256D530007348C. Check out the song at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMzGBU5mm7g&feature=related.

I cannot put into the words the bravery displayed by those individuals who rushed into the twin towers. What does it means to believe in something knowing that it is very likely that you will die in the process? What went through the minds of firemen who rushed into the second tower even after the first tower had collapsed? When people truly believe in something anything is possible. More importantly belief can conquer any fear irregardless of how serious that fear may be. I praise God for the examples we have of people who held to their beliefs regardless of what they faced. One day may we all reach the state of belief.

Anticipation

It always fascinates me how important anticipation can be for us. Since much of life is spent on minute details our anticipation of great events can be critical to our survival. We spend incredible amounts of time at work, doing homework, cleaning, and other basic aspects of life. There are moments when we must push through the minor things in order to create free time for the memorable moments in time. Knowing there is something grander is all part of the journey.

Today I found myself eager for Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen. I decided to venture out with Jenna to the I-Max theater in Ann Arbor. The past few days as I waited for this movie I frequently found myself thinking about it. All I will say is that the movie lived up to its hype. Check it out for yourself, you won’t regret it. (Enjoy it Zack!)

Please realize I am not saying the minor aspects of life are not important. They have their place. Yet the pinnacle of our existence is found in the epic surrounding us. Words can’t explain the importance of the crucial moments in our lives. Defining moments make us who we are. The anticipation leading up to these events makes them all the greater. Never take for granted the moments leading toward something inconceivable. Without the continuous anticipation leading up to them, they may be deemed meaningless.