Out of the Mouth of Babes...

I took the little one shopping, last night, for that one special gift for my wife, from the little one.  I had a hand full of stocking stuffers, and I was looking for something that just screamed to be bought.

I couldn't find a damn thing, and I started to get a bit annoyed that there wasn't anything I liked enough, and my daughter tugs on my arm and goes "What's wrong?" so I answer her, ever so softly "I can't find anything I think mommy would love." The next words out of her mouth blew my mind.

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English 1020

I had my final in English, this past Saturday, and as a part of the final, we had to do a little creative writing.

*GLEE*

Our teacher believed the short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", by Joyce Carol Oates, was unfinished.  It was our job to finish it in a page and half to two pages.  Lets just say, for conversational purposes, that my first draft wasn't any where close to being able to edit it down to two pages.  I was ale to rewrite and get it to fit, and still keep my original idea (actually an add-on to my wife's original idea) in one piece.

Anyway, I had a blast finishing off the story, and in my ending one of the characters, Arnold, is shot, and he retorts back, rather quickly "You son of a bitch!" which got a gasp from my classmates.

Why?  Well, during our first class, we had to introduce ourselves, explain what we wanted from the class, and where we saw ourselves five years down the road.  I explain that I was a Christian going after a Journalist Bachelors.  People gave me the stink eye, including the conservative in the front.  She asked me "Wouldn't you want to have a minor in theology?" to which I responded "theology doesn't explain the realness of God.  I can quote Greek, and explain to you that there are three words that describe Love, and that Jesus' birthright from David, but would that help you after your kid was murdered because of a drive by?  Would me knowing that the King James bible is so hard to read because King James wanted it hard to read help you understand why the world is so screwed up?"  There was silence and she smiled, as if I just answered fifteen other questions I was about to be asked.

I went to my seat satisfied.

So, back to my presentation.  I had used the "son of a bitch" twice more, and when I got back to my seat, this classmate behind me leans over and goes "That was really good, but I was surprised at your language."  I looked at her and was like "Really?  Oh, yeah the whole 'Christian' thing?" I didn't use finger quotes, but I did wave my hands like I was crazy, while saying Christian.

She nodded.

"I believe God gave us talents, and we're to use these talents, for Him, and if I hold back anything, I'm not doing either of us the justice I should be.  So, if I drop the f-word for emphasis of a situation, then I do.  I'm sure God understand my purpose behind it.  I won't go into a Samuel L. Jackson, curse induced rant, and there are other lines I won't cross, but God knows my reasoning.  I also believe that God is more mad at the fact that 30,000 people die, from reasons we can fix, in the same time it takes someone to complain about my usage of words in my writing."

There was silence and she smiled. "Wow, I never thought about that."

I liked the class as a whole, and it was cool to be able to speak so candidly about my faith in a real world setting.  So many times we get caught up in 'preaching' behind a pulpit, that we forget the chances in the normal days to get Gods message out.

Grace and Peace,
Jesse

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Our Painful Past

It's not too often another blog post leads to a Twitter conversation, that leads to me posting on my blog, but here we are, at that weird crossroads of "Real" and "Virtual" with a blog topic, in hand.

On a recent blog post, Lee Bezotte wrote about experiences and possessions.

Possessions are fun. I’m not going to lie to you.  It’s fun to buy stuff, play with it, drive it, watch it, talk on it, whatever.  But…

Experiences are memorable.  I wouldn’t trade some of my experiences, like my trips to Ireland, even for a new Mac.

Some people can afford both, but most of us can’t.  We ultimately end up choosing one over the other, even if we’re not aware that we’ve made that choice.

So how about you?  Are you a possession person or an experience person?

It was a quick post but it got a lot of people talking, mainly me.  I hate to say it, but experiences can be misleading, but so can possessions.  I made a smart ass remark, about trading painful experiences into possessions.  I mean, who wouldn't want to forget about the time you fell into a fire for an iPod, right?  Then, my wife, who always puts things into perspective, said something mind blowing.

Our painful memories make us who we are.

She has a rather valid point, but I am one to always have a counter point, this time to her and Señior Bezotte.

Lee, one of the many Christian bloggers I follow, and one I have no right calling by his first name, made a statement about trading experiences for possessions.  The problem is, we're always doing it, even when we're trying to build new experiences.  Bezotte's trip to Ireland probably wasn't free, right?  In essence, his trip was a possession that turned into an experience.

Yes, I know I'm cutting hairs, but follow with me for a moment.

The same goes for the Disney Cruise, my family and I went on a year ago.  My daughter will never forget that as long as she humanly can.  She'll never forget not getting Stitch's signature in her book, and she'll never forget the the clubhouse, with the princess, looking for Tinkerbell.  These are experiences, but the cruise was a possession to me.  The time I had with my family will never be replicated, but it won't go down as my greatest experience together.

Everyone see an experience different, something they'd never trade for anything, but my darkest experiences I would like to forever forget.

I've never had any real use, other than conversational side bars, for my knowledge on the pagan occult.  Yes, the information does come in handy while watching movies to be able to say "That's just not even close to how a druid would act," or during Ghost Adventures, when they start doing stuff that would make the normal Christian freak out.  Zak's a little crazy, you know?  The night I created "holy water" for a member of my coven - this is an experience I'd like to trade for some belly button lint.  It has no redeeming value, and little to do with who I am today.  My negative experiences may not be wiped away by the latest and greatest new whatever, but I also don't believe those negative experiences made me any better a person, either.  I'm not saying good can't come from a bad experience, but that's a whole other post.

You can believe every little experience can have an effect somewhere down the road, but we'll never know if it's a good or bad effect.  No- buying another video game will not allow me to have the best month ever, but buying a book can lead me to learning something I never knew.  No- buying an iPad won't make me fill more whole as a person, but buying a coke can make me feel just better enough to get me through the day.

Do I need a Kindle?  No.  Do I want a Kindle?  Yes.  I enjoy reading, and because of my inability to carry objects heavier than a piece of toast, a Kindle would be much easier to carry around than, lets say, any given King novel, or a whole slew of other books.  Will a Kindle cure my inability to eat cheese warmer than room temperature?  No, but while I sit on the toilet, I'd be able to read Hear No Evil without having to worry about loosing my spot when I'm done.  It's not life changing.

Should we stop experiencing? Should we stop gathering possessions? Of courses not, but using the excuse that one is another is counter-productive.  One man's possession is another man's experience.  One man's experience is another man's possession.

Grace and Peace,
Jesse

PS: Yes, sometimes all we need is a Coke and a smile, but no, I don't read or write while doing bathroom business.

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