You Don't Want to Know

This last summer I spent the whole summer at one of my favorite places on earth, the summer camp I grew up at. I spent the summer in charge of the older groups of kids and it was amazing. This post has nothing to do with that.

My roomate and one of the greatest friends in the world, Keith Johnson, worked at this camp with me. He is an amazing spiritual leader and an inspiration to me. Keith has a very direct and straight forward personality and as such the things he says to people are very straight forward. One night Keith gave a devotional thought to the whole camp that hid nothing back. He said what he wanted to say and he meant every single word of it. After the devotional I had many kids come up to me and tell me how much they enjoyed it because of how honest Keith was and how, for lack of a better term, real he was.

Lying is bad. There is no doubt about that. But the truth is always what hurts the most. I hear in so many movies or when so many guys are talking to there girlfriends that they lied to protect them from what really happen. Then said females say they really want the truth when in all honesty when we tell the truth your still going to get angry. Now I don't want anyone to hear that I am saying we should lie. What I am saying is that in most cases people don't actually want the truth.

Its amazing how often the truth completely attacks what we believe. We say "just tell me the truth" and then when the truth is out there we get offended and don't want to talk to the honest person.

The truth about the truth is that if it is something bad it attacks who we are and what we believe. Thats why its called the harsh truth. Its a reality shock that is like a bunch in the face from Rocky Balboa. And because it hurts so much we get angry and force that person away from us when in honesty we should be keeping them around because they are the only ones that will tell us what we need to hear. Everyone else around us is just being nice and not wanting to hurt our feelings.

So my challenge you to, my faithful readers, who ever you may be, is to be honest with each other. And if the person you are being honest with reacts badly and gets angry with you because of what you are saying then they don't deserve your friendship. You need to keep people around you that are going to be honest with you in the face of adversity because in the end what they are saying will make you a better person if you take what you are saying into stride and allow it to take hold in your life and grow into something amazing.

I Want You To Want Me

Dustin Hoffman was once quoted saying "I want a cookie. I want a party. I want, I want, I want. Me, Me, Me. My, My, My. Now, Now, Now." I am convinced this classic line is partially about women.

All my life I have been told to live life with chivalry and humility. Men are to treat women with the utmost respect. It is so deeply ingrained in who I am and I thank my mother and father for teaching me this. I believe it gives me a boost in life because I live by a code that goes way back to most ancient of times when men were men and that is what they were and all they could be. The thought of Chivalry to me is how you treat women in general. Not only by opening the door for them or paying for dinner on a date but also by pursuing them tirelessly. The rule is if you like a girl you go for her. Well I am here to say that is not the end all.

Just because men are the head and are called , it's biblical, to be the leader in the relationship and marriage doesn't mean that we don't want to be pursued just like a women does. I obviously can't speak for men everywhere but I will tell you now that I enjoy it when a girl not only lets me know that she likes me but also fights for the man that I am. And yes I am saying that the man I am is something worth fighting for. Not trying to sound conceited I just know how I treat girls and I have a tendency toward being awesome.

Now some people may think this thought is silly but i know there have been many times that choices would be so much easier if the girl I care for would show some effort. Now some may ask when is the proper time to show such effort. I tell you that no time is to soon. I am not talking about becoming clingy. Clingy is not good. I am talking about showing the emotion of jealousy when a guy talks about another girl. About saying this is why you should choose me not her. A guy can only give so much before he starts to question why he is giving it in the first place. I know that some people move slower than others but if you move to slow you will lose that race.

Effort can be simple things like leaving an encouraging note in the mail or sending a text in the morning to say i am thinking about you and wish that you have a good day. Little thoughts like this or more creative things will spark the interest even more. It adds mystery which everyone wants. Its the small things that add up to be the big finish.

I hope and pray the best for all my friends during this amazing time of year. Know that I love you and will continue to pray for you. If you have anything specific you need prayers for or need to talk about please let me know. Email me or Facebook me or call me. I am always ready to talk.

Time to Grow Up

Contrary to what most people will assume when they read this it is not in fact time for me to grow up. What this blog is about is how dumb some people are.

Case and point:

Tonight one of my teachers had a bonfire at his farm. It was an amazing night to be out taking in all the beauty that is Gods creation. The sky was so clear and all the stars seemed to be shinning just for me. As I was standing there enjoying myself talking about life with my friends I notice a group of people walking up. Now my teacher teaches a couple of freshman classes. As soon as they walked up it was easy to tell what was about to happen.

Soon the area was full of girls shaking there bottoms, like a shake weight commercial girl, by the fire in attempt to warm them. First off you don't have enough in that particular area to be shaking it like that. Second if a guy thinks that is attractive he probably is not the right guy to date.

The next spectacle that i noticed was a small clump of people who had found a small mound near the fire to lay under. I don't know if it was hot or not all i do know was they thought they were so so so so cool. Fact: you were not cool or awesome. Just because you had five girls laying on your lap does not make you awesome. What made it all the better was the amazing rendition of Good Night that could be heard rising from them. But none the less pictures were taken and i am sure that soon you can look at them on Facebook.

So to wrap this little trip down memory lane i just want to let my readers know that big fires are cool but laying down next to it is not. Big mounds of dirt protecting you while singing horribly is also not cool. And don't shake it at fire because its a fire. You can't get it turned on.

Getting the Job Done

How do you measure the importance of a situation? Do you decided based on who's there or what its for? Is it only because that special someone asked you to? I want to tell you that it doesn't matter.

As a Christian I am called to a higher standard of living. When asked to help the helpless I should jump in. When called to lead the leaderless I just should only be so happy to get in there. Its all about how committed to your word you are.

In years way gone your word was your bond. It meant that no matter what you said you were going to do it. People in todays time have forgotten what thats about. We say yes to things because the cute girl down the road asked us to or it will look really good on our resume. We don't just do things because it's the right thing to do and because it will change someone else's life. We do it because we know that in the end we will get the credit for being the hero.

So my challenge to you and even more-so to myself is to get the job done. To not be afraid of any situation and to always be willing to do something for someone else without expecting praise of any kind. The best kind of praise comes from when no one knows it was done by you but they are still thankful for the blessing.

What to say?

I've never known the right thing to say. In typing the words or in saying the words. I am not eloquent. Its just not something I have every been blessed with. But I feel like writing.

I don't know who I am anymore. I don't understand why I do curtain things or why I say certain things. Where is the person who used to inhabit this body. I want him back. I want the guy who loved life for everything that was given to him. The one who thought no mountain is to tall and nothing will ever keep me from the top.Those are the thoughts that have passed through my head many times in the past seven years or so.

When my depression set in while I was in high school there was that change. The one that no one ever wants to admit is happening. Three years ago I spent time at a summer camp that changed me. The lessons where over Gods unfailing Love for me, the sinner. Since then it has been an incredible climb. For about a year my climb has seamed to stop.

The only change that is worse than the change into depression is the one that snaps you back to life. When you realize how stagnant you have become. The main reason is because it comes at a cost. The cost is usually personal. It may not be personal to you, but it is to someone.

This post is my personal way of saying goodbye to Cameron. I know that you will be missed by everyone who ever came in contact with you. I want you to know how much your life meant to me. I always envied your voice. You could sing a lion to sleep. But i also want you to know that you have reminded me to live my life to the fullest because its the only one I have and my prayer is that your family will find peace in knowing you are in a far greater place. Please continue to look after us especially Lauren and the friends from Guthrie. I know they are missing you a lot.

Imagine

I know that a lot of people don't read my blog. It doesn't really bother me. It is just nice to be able to right sometimes. What i wish to right about this time is life. What a large topic that is isn't it. Well i say lets just enter into a slight conversation so that we might get to know each other just a little better.

School is coming to a close for this year. This summer i will be attempting to change lives at a summer church camp and i am so excited and have been praying all ready for the kids that i will meet. So as this year has come to a close some very crazy things have occured in my life. One: I have found a truly powerful God who wants to work in my life. My biggest problem is getting out of the darn way. Two: Its hard to quit something that you have been doing or been a part of for a very long time. Three: The greatest blessings can come from people you just met and bairly know. And if said person is reading this for some reason i want you to know this: nothing may ever come of us or our friendship or whatever you want to call it but you have changed my life for the better. You are a blessing from God.

Peace be with you my friends.

Phones

My phone has recently sent its last text. I dropped it. Not cool at all but its nice not having it ringing off the hook all time or vibrating all the time with texts. The only problem is now no one will know how to reach me cause it has been so long since anyone has lived with out a phone. O what to do what to do.