The World I Know

Collective Soul made a #1 hit out of the song The World I Know in 1995.

I was 15 when the song debuted; a sophomore in high school. I remember seeing the video for the first time. I was moved. It was the first song in which I felt instantly connected to the message. Even now, I am taken back to that day when I hear the song or see the video. And that’s how you know a song has really left it’s mark.

Are we listening?
Hymns of offering.
Have we eyes to see?
Love is gathering.
Shortly after becoming a father (some 2 1/2 months ago), my son, London, and I were on the way to the mall and The World I Know came on the radio. The song suddenly felt different and it made me think: what it was like to see the world out of his eyes?

All the words that I’ve been reading,
Have now started the act of bleeding,
Into one, Into one.

So I walk up on high,
And I step to the edge,
To see my world below.
And I laugh at myself,
While the tears roll down,
Cause its the world I know.
Oh its the world I know.

Innocent.
Pure.
Unashamed.
Real.
Honest.
New.
Curious.
Peaceful.
Excited.
Willing.
Zealous.
Engrossed.

In Matthew 18:2, Jesus tells us we must return to the pure heart and mind of a child in order to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.  Perhaps it’s because children see the world the way God sees the world. Unfortunately, I approach the world with bias. Lucky for me, God doesn’t approach me with bias.

Our country entered into a season of change when we elected a new President. Change that was predicated on the promises to be different than we were before. We need to be different.  But not politically different.  

We need to be Jesus different.
To approach the world unashamed.
With Love.
Willing to accept those around us.
Despite our differences.
Much like Jesus accepted and loved us.

As parents, we try to be the example for our children. To demonstrate the behaviors and attitudes that we believe to be acceptable. But as parents, we are the ones who need to learn from our children. Not to show them the world we know. Rather to learn of the world that they know. And then approach life with the same love, passion, mercy and grace that God approaches us with.

That’s the world that I want to know.

48 Random Things About Me

A few months back,  the “48 Random Things About Me” phenomenon made its way around Facebook. I thought that it was a good to post here so that you could get to know a little more about me.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Appropriately, the first man. Booyah!

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
I almost cried today when I thought about how awesome I looked driving a big honkin’ Home Depot van. I also got a little choked up at church on Sunday, but no tears. I guess the last time big salty drops came streaming down my face was at Gran Tornio.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Heck yeah I do.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Boars Head Cracked Peppercorn Turkey.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
We have a son named London Rhys and he’s the 2nd coolest person I know.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Duh!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
At weddings, funerals and during important meetings with my boss.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
So those are the swollen things in that back of my throat.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Would you snort cocaine off the lid of a toilet seat? Wait, don’t answer that; Jamal Anderson already did. No, I would not bungee jump. God has already determined which way I should die.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Fruity Pebbles.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
You don’t have to with the pimp tie.

12. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ROBOT?
Johnny 5 (Short Circuit) followed closely by Wall-E.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Everything but the…by Ben & Jerry.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Whether or not they are as good looking as I am.

15. RED OR PINK?
Pink. And yes, I am a dude. And yes, I am straight.

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My nose. It’s ginormous.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My brother. He’s in Portland, OR.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
They better, if they know what is good for them.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Black t-shirt (Pig Cloth by Aaron Gillespie) and black Chuck Taylor Lo.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Jack Bauer interrogate some idiot traitor.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Black.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS
Hot wings from Taco Mac.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My mother-in-law.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Yeah, he’s a pretty righteous dude. Taught me what the Spider Man is.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Auburn football, SEC football and college football.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Black, blonde, red and light brown.

28. EYE COLOR?
Blue.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Only when I am working out my guns and my buns.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Hot wings from Taco Mac.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Scary movies. Especially when the bad guy comes back to life after an alleged kill!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
At the theater: Taken with Famke Janssen and Liam Neeson. At home: Twilight. And I drooled everytime I saw Kristen Stewart.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Black.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer!!! Winter is for girls.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Kisses. And only from my wife because my dog has smelly breath.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
MaryAnn.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Mark Kimel. He’s the righteous dude that sent this to me.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Twilight. Again.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
People still use mouse pads?

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
Fired Up! Rented it from RedBox.

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S).
Anything from Underoath, The Almost, Demon Hunter and the flight attendant telling me it’s safe to use portable electronic devices.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Who are they?

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
I live by the quote that “home is where the heart is,” so I’ve never been away from home.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I can play handbells, make my arm shorter in length and make fart sounds with my mouth.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Birmingham, AL. Sweet home Alabama.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
All 25 peeps who respond.

48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
NetBank. Left a note on her car, because that’s how I roll.

Pull the trigger

Have you ever felt so passionately about something that you would be willing to give your life for it? A cause for which you would be willing to die?

I realize that is a loaded question and thankfully most of us are never faced with a scenario where we have to answer it.

But for a moment, pretend you were.

At approximately 11:30 AM on April 20, 1999, Cassie Bernall would know exactly what it meant to giver her life for something she believed in. Cassie was in the library of Columbine High School when Eric Harris is believed to have asked her: do you believe in God? That day her life was taken because she confirmed her faith in something he did share. Ultimately, she looked at Eric and told him to pull the trigger. It would have been easy for Cassie to say, “no, I do not believe in God.” No one would blame her. God would have forgiven her. And she would still be alive today. However, it’s not always that easy.

As Christians, we’re called to take up our cross: to do as Christ did and die to ourselves, for his cause, daily.

While listening to Flyleaf’s song dedicated to Cassie, I was reminded of her story and I was consumed by the thought:  what was it like to be her in that last remaining seconds of her life? When she entered the library that fateful morning, God was preparing to watch her destiny fulfilled; but what was she preparing for? What did think when she heard the gunshots? When Eric walked into the library?

We never know the time in which our number will be called, our purpose fulfilled.  But we must be ready for the time God calls us to His purpose, even when it may not be our own.